Catching Reid
by Not A Droid
Summary: <html><head></head>Takes place after the episode "JJ" After JJ is transferred, Reid decides to leave the BAU and the FBI. Once he leaves, the FBI wants him back, Georgetown wants him on staff, and Emily Prentiss just wants him. So, who will catch Reid, in the end?</html>
1. Reid's Resignation

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

_A/N: I had this idea after the episode JJ aired the first time. After seeing last night's episode, I was inspired to actually set it down. I may incorporate the Doyle story line at some point as we go along._

* * *

><p>It was unusual for Spencer Reid to go to Chief Erin Strauss's office. He was more than happy to avoid the administration and bureaucracy of the FBI whenever possible, but he felt this was inevitable, so he might as well get it over with. He had dropped his things at his desk in the bullpen, had a brief conversation with Hotch, and came to Strauss's office. He waited patiently until her secretary let him know the Section Chief for the BAU would see him.<p>

Once he was in her office, she asked, "What is it that I can do for you, Agent Reid?"

"I just wanted to hand you this in person." He handed her an envelope.

"What is this, Agent Reid," Strauss asked, not even bothering to open it.

"It's my resignation, ma'am."

"Excuse me?"

"My resignation. I am resigning from the Behavior Analysis Unit and the Bureau."

She sighed. "Does this have anything to do with Agent Jareau?"

"In part, ma'am."

"Agent Reid," she began," I was expecting some reaction from the rest of the team, but this is melodramatic. If not infantile."

"No ma'am. Just vanishing like Jason Gideon did was infantile. I'm acting responsibly."

"Does Agent Hotchner know about this?"

"Yes ma'am. I talked to him about this before I came over."

"I see. Agent Reid, why are you leaving? Just because Agent Jareau was transferred?"

"No. Because _you_ chose to transfer her."

"I didn't choose that. The Pentagon chose for her to be reassigned."

"And you chose not to fight it. Just as you have continually chosen to try to remove Agent Hotchner from the BAU. Can you tell me, ma'am, who's next? Which one of us will be taken away next? Morgan? Garcia? Rossi?"

"Agent Reid, this is how the world works."

"No. This is how your world works. I understand that. I don't like it, but I understand it. So, I'm choosing not to stay."

"If you leave, Agent Reid, there will be no coming back."

"That's fine with me." And with that, Spencer Reid walked out of her office. As soon as the door closed behind him, Strauss was on the phone with Aaron Hotchner.

A short time later, the team was gathered in the conference room for their daily briefing of cases. They were all gathered around the table, waiting for Hotch to come in to start the briefing. As soon as he did, Reid spoke up.

"Uh, actually, Hotch," Reid said," I have something I need to tell everyone."

"Why don't we talk in private first, Reid."

"No, I don't think that will change things."

"What's gong on, Reid," Rossi asked.

"I submitted my resignation from the Bureau. In two weeks, I will no longer be a part of either the FBI or the BAU."

Everyone was quiet.

"I just thought everyone should know. I think we've all had enough surprises to last a while. Now, do we have a case that requires travel Hotch?"

The briefing continued.

* * *

><p>A few days later, they were on the BAU jet coming back from a case, when Morgan sat down next to Hotch and Rossi.<p>

"What are you going to do about Reid?" Morgan asked Hotch.

"What do you mean?"

"You can't let him leave."

"I can't stop him Morgan."

"You know he's just leaving because of JJ."

"It's his call, Derek," Rossi said.

"That's it?"

"Look, I'd like for him to stay, but it's his choice and I'm not going to interfere. Like it or not, he makes his own choices."

"And you're okay with this?"

"I respect his choice."

"Hotch," Morgan said," you're okay with this?"

"I don't want to lose him, but I'm not certain we can change his mind. I've talked to him several times, but he seems to have made up his mind. If it makes you feel any better, Strauss doesn't want him to leave either."

"She knows?"

"He gave her his letter of resignation in person."

"Is he that pissed about JJ?"

"I don't know. Why don't you ask him?"

"I tried. He won't talk about it."

"Give him time," Rossi said.

"We don't have much time to get him to change his mind."

"Don't approach it like that. Just ask him why he's leaving. If there's one thing Reid is always willing to do, it's explain things."

In another part of the plane, Prentiss kept looking at Reid, who was reading a book. She couldn't stand it anymore.

"Are you going to talk about it?" she asked him.

"About what?"

She grabbed the book out of his hands.

"Hey, I was reading that."

"Answer my question and I'll give it back. You know damn well what I'm talking about, so stop pretending to be oblivious. Why are you leaving? Is it just about JJ? Or something else?"

"Does it matter?"

"It does to me. Look, I just want to understand your thinking."

"Why?"

"Because you're my friend and I care about you. Because I'm interested in understanding human behavior. And because I'm going to miss you."

"I'm sorry Emily."

"Look, if you feel you need to leave, I understand. Do you want to get something to eat when we get back? Maybe at the Indian place you always want to go to?"

"What for?"

"To talk. If you chose to do this, then I know you gave it a lot of thought. I just want to understand, that's all. I promise not to try to talk you out of it until I understand it."

"And then?"

"No promises." She handed him his book back.

"Fair enough."


	2. Reid's Thinking

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

><p>Once the jet landed and their paperwork was done, Reid and Emily went to a restaurant about half-way between their respective apartments. They had ordered their food and Emily was patient enough to wait until their food had arrived before asking Reid about his decision to leave.<p>

"So, what is your thinking?" Emily asked.

"What do you mean?" Reid asked.

"You know what I mean, Dr. Reid. You resigned, remember? Now don't get me wrong, it's nice to get a short history of restaurants in this country and, unlike Morgan, I do enjoy your dissection of 'Star Trek' misquotes, but you promised to explain your decision to leave. When you're done, you can explain to me how Kirk never said "Beam Me up Scotty."

"You enjoy it when I do that?" he was surprised.

"I do. I'll admit, part of it is watching Morgan roll his eyes when you do it."

Reid involuntarily smiled and looked down at his food. A thought suddenly occurred to Emily.

"Reid, " she said, "is that why you do it? Because you know you'll get a rise out of Morgan?"

"No. Well, that's not the whole reason. It does, however, make me smile when he does that."

Emily laughed. "That's great. Does he know that?"

"You would really think a profiler like him might at least consider the possibility."

Emily laughed a little bit more then took another bite of her food. "You still didn't answer my question."

"What question was that?"

"Why are you leaving? I know you Reid, and if you made the decision, then you gave it a lot of thought. So, why are you leaving?"

"I think you mean, am I leaving because of JJ?"

"No, that isn't my question. It might be what every one else is asking, but it's a flawed question."

"How so?"

"It presupposes that you want to leave just because JJ isn't here anymore. I know better than to make an assumption like that."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I suppose it's possible that's why you want to leave, but it's not a good idea to begin an interview with an assumption-laden question like that. So, tell me, why did you decide to leave now?"

"It's hard to explain."

"I have faith in your ability to articulate your thought process. So, stop avoiding the question and tell me."

"Well, I guess to be fair, it has a little to do with JJ."

"Okay. In what way?"

"She's not the first team member to leave since I joined the team. But her leaving is different. It isn't like Elle or Gideon."

"Elle?"

"Elle Greenway. She left before you came here."

"So, I took her spot?"

"No. The spot was open because she wasn't there, but it wasn't _her_ spot."

"What happened?"

"She..." Reid hesitated. "Hotch kind of forced her to leave, after she shot a suspect."

"There's more to it than that, isn't there?"

"Yeah. She ...uh...she went undercover and it didn't go well. First, she went off script, then she followed him and...she was cleared, but Hotch thought she killed him intentionally. The truth is, she probably came back too soon."

"Back?"

"An unsub shot her in her house."

"Oh my God."

"She came back before her leave was over, and we ... we should've known better." He was quiet for a moment. "I guess the same is true of Gideon."

"What do you mean?"

"When we talk about Boston now, we think about George Foyet. Before that, though, Boston meant Adrian Bale."

"That name's familiar. Isn't he a bomber? Gideon caught him, right?"

"Yeah. And lost 7 agents in the process. He was on medical leave for 6 months afterwards."

"He was hurt?"

"Not physically. Psychologically..." Reid's voice trailed off.

"You think he came back too soon?"

"We push ourselves into the work. Look at Hotch and Rossi. They sacrificed their marriages for the job. There are more agents that do it all the time. But those are at least their choices."

"Now you are talking about JJ."

"A little. I don't have much of a family, but that's my choice. I don't have much of a life outside the job, but it's still my choice. I only have so much time to make a difference in the world before ... I don't want someone else to decide how I make that difference."

"What do you mean you don't have much time?"

"Emily, you know about my mother. Her disease, I mean."

"Reid, you know there's no guarantee you're going to have it."

"But I won't know until it happens. So, it's better to assume I will and plan for it. If at any moment they can take me away... I understand it can happen. If that's part of the job, then that's unacceptable. I can handle everything except being forced to accept I position I don't want."

"Do you think they will, move you somewhere else?"

"I don't know. I don't think so, but I didn't think they would take JJ away either. Plus, thinking about JJ and Gideon, it just made me remember New Orleans."

"New Orleans?"

"You remember, the case where JJ first met Will? The case when I ..." he cleared his throat," when I ignored you calling me. When I chose to stay behind?"

Emily remembered. It was the case where she was sure Reid was using, when she knew beyond a doubt that something was wrong. She had to be careful how she responded to him now. " I remember."

"At the time, I told Gideon I wanted to know if I could walk away."

"And?"

"I think I want to walk away now. If it's only a matter of time before I end up like Mom, then every moment is precious. And I don't want top waste it in an organization that doesn't values us as people. Not anymore. Can you blame me?"

Emily shook her head. She understood exactly where he was coming from. She put her hand on his and said," just promise me you're leaving isn't good-bye."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm going to miss you. You're one of the good parts of this job, and I don't mean missing having someone who can read an entire bookshelf in a few hours. I mean I like spending time with you. I don't want to say good-bye to you."

"Really?"

"Really. If you feel like you have to walk away from the job, I respect that. Just don't walk away from your friends. That's all."

Reid smiled. "I won't."

"Good. Now, tell me some more about Star Trek."

"Like what?"

"You said Kirk never said 'Beam me up, Scotty."

"Well , he didn't." And for the next 15 minutes Reid explained in detail how it was an incredibly misquoted.

Emily listened with a smile on her face, whether because she really enjoyed his company or because she enjoyed her food, Reid didn't know.


	3. Exit Interview

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

_A/N: I want to thank everyone for their feedback on this story._

* * *

><p>Reid's last two weeks went by quickly with almost no drama until he had only a few days left. That's when Reid almost walked out for good.<p>

The team was at the BAU offices the day after a case. Emily was working on a consult at her desk in the bullpen. Hotch called Reid to his office. Emily noticed Rossi go in, followed by Morgan. She shook her head. It was obvious to her they were attempting some sort of intervention. She told them before to be careful how they talked to Reid about his decision. If handled properly, they could probably convince him to simply take a leave of absence instead of full resignation. A 3-on-1 intervention, however, was a far cry from handling it properly. She had no idea how bad it was going to be, and was surprised when twenty minutes later, Reid slammed the door to Hotch's office and went down the steps to his desk.

Emily looked up and saw Reid grab his jacket and messenger bag from his desk.

"Reid," she asked, "what are you doing?"

"Going home."

"For the day?"

"Forever." And then he walked out of the bullpen towards the elevators.

Morgan came down the stairs, "Kid, C'mon. Reid!" But Reid ignored him. Morgan would have followed Reid to the elevators if Emily hadn't gotten up and blocked his way.

"I think you've done enough damage. I'll handle this."

"Emily, no offense but you don't know what happened in there."

"Trust me Derek, I have a good idea of exactly what happened. Go back to your office and leave him alone." She walked to the elevators trying to get there before he left in the elevators, but trying to move with an air of calm. Fortunately, she made it before his elevator arrived.

"Hey Reid," she said,"what's going on?"

"I'm going home. I'm not staying one more moment. Not after that."

"Don't do it. You're better than that."

Reid's nostrils flared ."you don't know what they said in there."

"I don't need to. I'm sure things got out of hand, and I'm sure all four of you said things you really didn't mean. Just don't walk out right now. You have a few days left. See it through. You'll be glad you did, I promise."

"No. I'm done." He stared at the elevator, trying to will it to open and take him away.

"Don't do it like this. If you do, you'll regret it, maybe not today or tomorrow but soon and for the rest of your life."

"No."

Emily stood in front of him. He kept trying to move his head away from her, but she kept meeting his eyes until he glared at her. "Leave me alone."

"No. Not this time."

"Why? I thought you were on my side."

"I am. And if you just walk out like this, you will feel bad about it. Because when you've had time to calm down, you'll realize what happened in that room."

"They accused me of running away because of JJ."

"Except that's not what they were doing."

"You weren't there."

"I didn't need to be. I know what happened. They're hurt that you're leaving. They feel abandoned and betrayed, so they're acting out of anger and hurt feelings. They're still reeling from JJ leaving, and now you leave. They're panicking. They can't stop themselves. This might be why Gideon just vanished."

"What do you mean?"

"He didn't want to deal with this. This team hasn't had to say good-bye to someone like this. Gideon just vanished. Elle left while you were on a case. JJ was sent away. You are the only one to choose to walk away and do it in a responsible manner. Don't let them push you into doing the wrong thing. You're better than that. And we need to be better than that."

"I ..." he faltered. His anger and fury melted and turned into sadness. He sighed. "Now I know why Dad just left a note."

Emily took his hand in hers, "I know. But don't be like him. You have a good plan. Leave the right way. Don't push people away, even if they're pushing you."

"Why does it matter to you?"

"Because I'm your friend. And I know what it's like to leave a job you don't want to do."

"Are you talking about this job?"

"No. I'm talking about another posting I had. I'll tell you about it someday. But right now, let's just go back in the bullpen and finish out the day, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good." She smiled and hugged him impulsively. She walked back towards the bullpen. She turned around once, to make sure he was following her. She flashed an encouraging smile when she saw he was coming back.

When they walked back into the bullpen. Rossi was out of his office on the catwalk, his hands resting on the railing. He saw the two of them walking in together. Emily made eye contact with him. She scowled at him. He shrugged his shoulders and held his hands up in a surrendering gesture. He moved towards the stairs, until he saw her shake her head. He looked at the door to his office and looked quizzically at her. She nodded. He sighed and bowed his head in defeat. He went back into his office.

Reid didn't appear to notice the interchange. He just settled himself back into his desk and began working on his consults.

Sometime later, he found himself in the break room with Dave Rossi. Reid went to the coffee pot and poured himself coffee, hoping he wouldn't have to speak to the other agent.

Rossi broke the silence. "Look, Reid..."

"I don't have anything else to say."

"I do. I'm sorry."

Reid turned around and faced him. "Sorry?"

"We shouldn't have gone as far as we did. And you're right, it's your choice and none of our business. I'm sorry. I know more than most what it feels like you need to walk away. I'm sorry."

"I...I understand."

There was no more overt drama, but there was a lot of awkward quiet in offices for the rest of the week.

* * *

><p>The afternoon on his last day, Reid was in Strauss's office for his exit interview.<p>

She began by saying,"I just want to say, Agent Reid, you are a valued asset to the Bureau and we hate to lose you."

"And Agent Hotchner, Agent Morgan and Agent Rossi have made that clear. You will be happy to know that they have passionately advocated for me to stay."

"But you haven't changed your mind."

"No ma'am. It isn't a matter not feeling wanted by the bureau, ma'am. I just don't feel like this is the place for me anymore."

"Agent Reid, do you really think there is another place that can truly appreciate your talents?"

"Well, I've accepted a position on the adjunct faculty at Georgetown. For the semester, anyway. I think that's going to be a good place to start."

"I see." Strauss paused, and then realized there was nothing she could say that would change his mind. "Is there anything else you would like to add for your exit interview?"

"Just one thing ma'am."

"Yes?"

"After Agent Hotchner killed George Foyet, you held a hearing to see what we could have done to have prevented the death of a US Marshall and Hotch's ex-wife. Well, I've given it a great deal of thought since then, and I have the answer."

"Yes?"

"All we need to do to is to build a time machine and go back in time and kill George Foyet before he killed anyone. I worked up a proposal." pulled a folder from his messenger bag and placed it on her desk. "Everything we would need to build it including a proposed budget. It might look pricey, but really since human life is priceless, even at $5 billion, it's a bargain."

"This isn't a time for jokes Agent Reid."

"It isn't a joke. It is theoretically possible to build a time machine, assuming my math is correct. Of course, I haven't considered the ethical consequence of going back in time and trying to change the past, but I don't think that would stop the FBI from considering it."

It was one of the few times anyone rendered Erin Strauss speechless.

Reid stood up and started to leave.

"Agent Reid," she began to say, when Reid interrupted her.

"Doctor."

"What?"

"I'm not an agent anymore, ma'am. It's Dr. Reid. And don't worry, if you want any help, I'll be around." Then he walked out of her office and headed back to the bullpen.

* * *

><p>At the end of the day, Emily was walking with Reid to the elevators. Reid seemed troubled by something.<p>

"Emily," he said.

"Yes?"

"Something's been bothering me for the last few days."

"What's that?"

"When I was just going to walk out you said I'd regret it."

"Yeah. Maybe not today and maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life."

"Yeah. That's a quote, isn't it? From a book or a movie?"

Emily looked at him incredulously. "Yeah, it's from _Casablanca_."

He looked puzzled.

"You can quote every Star Trek episode ever made, but you've never seen the most famous movie of all time?"

"Well, at least not what you think the most famous movie of all time is."

Emily let out a small laugh. "Of course you haven't. Tell you what, why don't you come over tonight. I'll order pizza and we can watch it."

"Watch it?"

"I have it on DVD."

"OK. Sure, why not."

The whole way home, Emily had a satisfied smile on her face.


	4. Burning Bridges

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

><p>No one on the team liked being called to Erin Strauss's office. Emily Prentiss, however, really didn't like it. It reminded Emily that Strauss tried to use her to get rid of Hotch. Emily hated that Strauss tried to use her like that. Emily almost left rather than being used like that. A few days after Reid was gone, Strauss summoned her.<p>

"Agent Prentiss," Strauss greeted her in a very unwarm, curt acknowledgement that let Emily know this wasn't going to be a good meeting. Strauss gestured to a chair, and Emily sat down. "Do you know why you're here?"

"No ma'am." This wasn't entirely true. Emily had a suspicion this had to do with Reid. In fact, she had several thoughts on what Strauss's reaction might be, but she had no intention of voicing those just yet.

"On Friday, I conducted the exit interview with Agent Reid. He indicated that Agents, Hotchner, Morgan and Rossi vigorously tried to convince him to stay. Did you talk to him about staying?"

"No ma'am."

"Did you talk to him at all about his decision to leave?"

"Yes ma'am."

"But you didn't talk to him about staying?"

"I did not try to convince him to stay, if that's what you mean."

"It is. Why didn't you try to convince him to stay, Agent Prentiss?"

"What does that matter?"

"I would like to know why you are the only member of the team that didn't try to convince him to stay."

"When he announced he was leaving, I asked him why. He explained his position, and I told him I respected his decision."

"You didn't think he should stay?"

"I will miss him being on the team, but it's his life and his decision."

"You don't think the time and expense the FBI put into training him warranted trying to keep here?"

Emily couldn't keep herself from smiling at that.

"Is something funny, agent?"

"You. You're in charge of experts in human behavior, but you don't understand it. What did you do? Tell Hotch to do everything he could to convince Reid to stay? Maybe even threaten to cut his budget if he didn't have constant discussions with Reid about it?" The glare Strauss leveled at her let Emily know she was right. "You're an idiot, ma'am. You went about it exactly the wrong way. The irony is, he'll be back."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, he would have been. If this had been handled properly, Reid might have been convinced to simply take a leave of absence. If you just let him walk away, he would have come back. Maybe in a year, maybe two but he would have come back. But now, it would take an extraordinary set of circumstances to get him back."

"Assuming we would want him back."

"Sure you do. Otherwise you wouldn't have brought me here to reprimand me. Go ahead, give me the form to sign."

"Form?"

"For my file. That's why I'm here, right? So you can formally reprimand me?"

"You're very glib out it."

"I intend to display on my desk. It's my new badge of honor."

The look Strauss leveled at her was pure malice. "Get out."

"No reprimand?"

"Leave my office, Agent."

"Yes ma'am."

Emily managed not to smile until she left Strauss's office. She made a beeline for Garcia's office.

Garcia was busy at work, typing away at her keyboard and monitoring several screens at once.

"Hey, PG,' Emily said, "we need to talk."

Garcia turned around and faced Emily. "No you don't. You are not allowed to leave. I am not losing three of you in one month. I'm just not."

Emily could see tears forming in Garcia's eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere. At least not until Strauss fires me."

"Then what's with the serious, 'we need to talk' stuff?"

"I just want to know if you can get a hold of Reid's exit interview paperwork."

"It's too late, he's gone."

"He's not gone, he just doesn't work here anymore. I had dinner with him over the weekend."

"Really?" Garcia said with a suggestive wink. Her tears were now gone, and she was back to the confident and bubbly oracle of all knowledge the team had come to rely on. She turned back around and started typing furiously as her monitors came alive with activity again.

"Not like that." Emily didn't need any rumors getting started.

"Are you sure?"

"Hey if you can't get me the papers, that's fine."

"Excuse me? Can't? You doubt my powers? I'm hurt. I will forgive you if you give me the dirt on you and Reid."

"Sorry, PG, there's no dirt to give."

"If you say so."

"Garcia, leave it alone."

"Don't you want there to be dirt?"

"What I want is to see his paperwork."

"Why? It's just forms."

"I just came from Strauss's office."

"Why?"

"She's upset I didn't try to talk Reid out of leaving."

"What!" Garcia wheeled around and looked at Emily with an incredulous look in her eyes. "You didn't even try? Don't you want him here?"

She sighed. "More than you know. But, I want to be a good friend to him first. That means putting his interests ahead of mine. So, I asked him what his reason were. He told me, and they made sense. So, I chose to respect his intent. Especially since I had reason to believe he'll be back."

"Back?"

"All of us: me, Hotch, Morgan, and even you, this is what we're going to do for the rest of our lives. We're all damaged just enough that we feel called and compelled to chase after monsters. So is Reid. He'll go live in academia for a while, then he'll come back like Rossi did. The only question is if he burned any bridges that will keep him from coming back."

"What kind of bridges?"

"This is why I need to see his paperwork. Something got Strauss's fired up. I want to know what it is." She looked at Garcia's screens, and pointed,"is that the listing of his materials?"

Garcia looked where Emily was pointing.

"Yes. It's nothing unusual. His resignation letter. His exit interview and... huh."

"What?"

"He submitted a proposal or something. Whatever it is, it's long."

"But it's cataloged, right? Like a summary page?"

"Hold on." Garcia typed and small window opened on her monitor. "Here it is. A proposal for the development and use of a time machine with law enforcement uses germane to BAU objectives."

For a moment, both women were silent. Then Garcia spoke up.

"A time machine?"

"A need a copy PG."

"OK. Why?"

"Remember you asked about what bridges he could have burned?"

"Yeah?"

"Like that."


	5. Reid's Proposal

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

><p>As Emily was reading the rather involved document at her desk, she couldn't help but smile. When she saw Reid submitted a proposal for building a time machine, she thought it was a joke. As she read it, she realized he was serious. During the main part, when he was talking about the theoretical physics portion of it, she wasn't certain she understood it. Reid had also included a section regarding how to fund the project.<p>

He had all but written about five grant proposals that looked like they could fly. If Spencer started doing research at Georgetown, he might be so good at this side of it, he might never come back.

_And what do you think of that, Emily?_

She pushed the question to herself aside as she considered the next section, where he outlined cases where it would be advisable to use the time machine. Spencer outlined a rigorous set of parameters of the cases where use of the time machine should be used.

_Reid, not Spencer._

She caught herself using his first name. So what? The tradition of calling people by their last name, that was agents and employees of the bureau. He wasn't Supervisory Special Agent Reid, anymore He was Dr. Spencer Reid, adjunct professor at Georgetown University. It was fine to call him Spencer now.

Spencer. Spencer. Spencer.

"Why are you smiling," Emily heard Derek Morgan ask. She looked up to see him staring at her.

"Happiness is my default position."

"Since when?"

"Since always. I can't help it if you're too busy flirting with all the female agents or picking on Reid to notice that before."

"So what are you reading? That can't be a consult."

"Why not?"

"There's no way you could smile at a consult. Even if happiness is your default position. Which it's not."

"Whatever you say Morgan."

"What are you reading?"

"It's something Garcia got for me. From Reid's exit interview."

"What? Did he write Strauss a book?"

"Sort of. It's a proposal."

"For what?"

"Building a time machine."

"What?"

"He wrote a proposal to build a time machine. I think he's been working on this ever since Haley died."

"What?"

"Remember Strauss's little witch hunt? How it was supposed to figure how to prevent that from happening? Spencer is answering it literally. I'm not certain I understand the math or the physics, but it sounds like it could be possible to build a time machine. Then we would go back in time and stop Foyet."

"Tell me he didn't actually write that."

"Why not? It's actually a pretty interesting read."

"Emily, he'll be lucky if they don't put him in a mental institution. But you know they'll never let him back in the FBI now. Ever."

"He wasn't coming back anyway."

"I thought you said he would. You kept saying he'll come back."

"He might have, if you three hadn't ganged up on him. Now I don't think anyone could convince him to come back."

"Depending how many people have seen that," Morgan indicated the proposal," I don't think anyone would let him come back."

"Don't judge it until you read it."

"Emily, he's proposing building a time machine. I don't care if he wins a Nobel Prize in Physics by building one, the Bureau won't take him back. There is just no way."

"Maybe."

"What do you mean maybe?"

"I think if Spencer wants to come back, we'll be lucky to have him."

"That's the second time you've called him Spencer."

"So?"

"So, just close are you two getting?"

"We're friends. Aren't we all friends?"

"But you never used to call him Spencer before."

"He was a FBI agent before. Now he's a civilian."

"And maybe you can be more than friends."

"What's the matter, _Derek, _can't a man and woman be friends?"

"They can. I'm just not certain that's what you want from him.

"Well, you're wrong."

"So, why are reading this?"

"I was curious."

"About what?"

"About why Strauss was so pissed."

"You've talked to Strauss today?"

"She wanted to reprimand me for not trying to convince Spencer to stay."

"Wait a minute, you never tried to convince him to stay?"

"No, I never did."

"You said you talked to him."

"I did. I asked him why he was leaving. He told me, and I respect his reasons."

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully," or maybe his leaving creates an opportunity."

"What do you mean?"

"If he's not part of the bureau, then fraternization isn't an issue, is it?"

"Oh dear God, what is your obsession with me being with Reid?"

"Why else wouldn't you want him to stay?"

"I'm being a good friend. I'm supporting his decision. You should try it. Now, if you don't mind, I'm trying to read."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's all it was. Just keep telling yourself that, princess."

Emily sighed. Then she went back to reading Reid's proposal. She put Morgan's line of reasoning out of her head. She just about finished the case study section when Garcia announced they needed everyone in the conference room, because they had a case.

Emily sighed, and mournfully put the proposal in her desk. She was kept thinking about it part way through the briefing. No so much because the idea of a time machine appealed to her, but because she knew Morgan was right. There was almost no chance they would take Reid back now. Emily wondered if that was the point.

She wondered if that was such a bad thing.


	6. For every action

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

><p>Reid's proposal had caught the attention of someone else besides Emily Prentiss. In another room of Washington DC, two men were talking about that very proposal.<p>

"So, what do you think?" said the first one. His name was Earl Hoskins. He was the one who had found the document, and after briefly reading it, brought it the attention of the second man, Dr. Morris Conklin.

Conklin was a thin, bony man with sharp eyes and a hawk-like nose. "It's a problem."

"How big of a problem?"

"We're doing a security audit right now, to see if there's the possibility that someone could have gained access to the project."

"Are you certain it's your work?"

"It's very close to what we're doing. There are others at universities and the private sector working on this, and we're aware of all of them. This..." he consulted the folder,"Dr. Reid isn't on anyone's radar. I can't imagine some nobody figuring out this on their own."

"I was afraid of that." Earl Hoskins worked for Homeland Security and worked with groups of secret government projects, like Conklin's, and had to be sure the research security wasn't being compromised. He now knew that he had to determine if Dr. Reid had somehow accessed the work Conklin's team was doing. "Is there any possibility that he had talked to anyone on your team? Or any of the other people you know of working on this question?"

Question was another word for project, in this case, time travel.

"I doubt it. I've never heard of this guy. I tried to see if he's written anything on this before, but I didn't find that's he's published anything before."

"You were looking in the wrong places. He's written articles for forensics journals."

"Forensics?"

"He's a profiler for the FBI. Or at least he was. As of Friday he's a civilian. This was part of his exit interview packet."

"What do you mean? He left the FBI and lets them know he has this?"

"I don't know yet. I just wanted to know if this was real. Since it is, I have to find out how he got it." Hoskins got up and started to walk out of the room. He paused for a moment and faced Conklin again. "What if he didn't acquire it? What if he worked all of this out by himself?"

"It's unlikely."

"But if he did?"

"If he worked all of this out by himself, he should be working for us."

Hoskins nodded. "All right. Tell me how the audit goes. I'll be in touch."

About an hour later, Hoskins had an interview with someone much more attractive than Conklin. She was lean, blonde and, until recently, a colleague of Spencer Reid.

"Agent Jareau?" he greeted her.

"Agent Hoskins."

"Please, call me Earl."

"I was told to report to you, Agent Hoskins." She saw absolutely no need to charm him.

"Well, I'm working on something you might be able to help me with. I work with various government research programs, all of them rated top secret and above."

"Sir, I don't understand. I thought I was here as a media liaison, but so far ..."

"You haven't been let near reporters? Well, that's simple to explain. You weren't brought on to be a media liaison. You were brought here because your potential and abilities have been recognized. Right now, I'm hoping you can help be determine if there was a security breach with one of our research projects."

"How would I do that?"

"I need you to interview a subject. He created a document that outlined how to build a time travel device."

JJ looked incredulously at him. "A time machine?"

"Yeah."

"The government is trying to build a time machine?"

"I know it sounds crazy. Anyway, this individual has written this document that comes close to describing our project exactly without seeming to have direct access to the project. I think you may be the perfect person to interview him."

"Why?"

"You know him. Dr. Spencer Reid."

"Spence?"

"Yeah. See, given his background, he might be able to fool most interviewers. But you know him. You've worked closely with him."

"You said he created a document. What exactly are you talking about?"

"He submitted a proposal to build a time machine."

"He what?"

"As part of his exit interview."

"Exit interview?"

"Yes. He resigned from the Bureau as of Friday."

She sighed. "He didn't steal anything."

"Well, I'm sure you want to believe that."

"No, you don't understand, he's a huge science fiction fan. One of the things he does for fun is figure out if any of the things that happen in the movies and books is if they could happen. He once tried to figure out if creating a space station the size of the Death Star was possible."

"This is a little different. He got all the details right. Or close enough. We need to make sure there isn't a security breach."

"Sir, he would never break in and steal anything."

"I'm familiar with his mental prowess. He might have hacked into the system."

JJ laughed.

"Did I say something funny?"

"You really don't know him. He's not a fan of technology."

"I thought you said he was a science fiction fan."

"But he doesn't like using computers. He doesn't even have a personal email account."

It was Hoskins turn to look incredulous. "You're kidding."

"Trust me. If he wrote this, he worked it all out. In his head."

"Well, I'm a long way from being convinced of that. We're going to bring him in. You interview him and convince me."

"What if I can't?"

"You will. Unless he isn't the man you think he is."

"But it won't be the end. If I convince you, then you're going to recruit him, aren't you?"

"Me? No. I'm only concerned with security. Recruiting people is someone else's department. So, are you going to help me out?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Sure. You can choose to not work with me. Of course, we'll still bring him in. And we'll keep him until we're convinced he's not a security risk."

She sighed. She really missed working at the BAU.

"Let me bring in. It'll be easier. Better yet, don't interview him in a facility. I can wear a wire and you monitor everything."

"See, this is why we need you. This is why recruited you." His smile was absolutely reptilian.


	7. JJ is wrong

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

><p>After Emily got out of the briefing, she saw she had a text from JJ. It said: <em>call me. ASAP.<em>

When she saw the text_, _she smiled. It had been awhile she had gotten together with JJ. Maybe JJ wanted to tell her how great things were going. Somehow, however, Emily doubted it. She was trying to fight a feeling in her gut that this text had something to do with Spencer. She shook her head. Just because they were thinking about Reid, almost to the point of obsession, didn't mean JJ was.

They? Maybe it was just her. Maybe she was the only one who really wondered what he was doing every moment of the day. Maybe she just didn't relish the prospect of being on a case without him. For his mental prowess, of course. He was a phenomenal asset on a case_, _that what she was going to miss. His extraordinary skill set, nothing else. Because it wasn't like she never saw him. She spent time with him this weekend.  
>She helped him move into his office on campus. She teased him about seducing coeds. So, it was just that she was going miss having him on the team that she felt right now.<p>

Nothing else.

Emily called JJ. "What's up JJ?"

"What the hell is wrong with you and Garcia?"

"Excuse me?"

"I told you to look after Spence. Does letting him quit and commit professional suicide sound like taking care of him?"

"He's an adult. He can make his own choices."

"He submitted a proposal to build a time machine!"

Emily couldn't help from laughing. "It's the appendix that makes it art. He wrote an essay debating the ethics of time travel. It's great."

"No it's not."

"Sure it is. I just wish I could have been there when he gave it to Strauss. I mean ..." Emily paused for a moment. "How do you know about it?"

"Do you think Strauss is the only one who saw it? Emily, what's he doing? I mean what is he really thinking?"

"You could ask him."

"Emily, just tell me you didn't know he was going to do this?"

"Which part? Quit or write the proposal?"

"Both."

"JJ, I don't think anyone has the right to demand how Spencer uses his brain. Not me. Or you. Or anyone. What's happening right now is he's doing what he wants to do, not what anyone is telling him he must do. But someone's telling you what do, aren't they? Right now, I mean?"

"I'm going to try to smooth things out, but you've got to talk to him Emily. He'll listen to you."

"What do you mean?"

"He loves you."

And with that JJ hung up.

Emily couldn't move for a moment. Was JJ kidding? It didn't sound like an off-hand comment. It sounded like ...

No. This is insanity. JJ is wrong. She doesn't know what she's talking about.

Emily put her phone away and went to get her go-bag. She had a plane to catch and a case to work.

* * *

><p>Later that day Dr. Spencer Reid, Adjunct Professor of Forensic Sciences at Georgetown University, completed his first lecture. On the walk from the lecture hall to his office, he reflected on his performance. He wished someone he trusted was there to watch him and give him feedback.<p>

He did lectures before, but he always got the idea that he was bad at public speaking. Today, he thought he did well. Or at least, he enjoyed himself. His concern was that while he was enjoying himself talking about pscyholinguistics, his students were sitting in a daze. Maybe he could convince Emily to sit in on one of his lectures. She would give him helpful feedback.

He was contemplating how exactly to broach that with her when he walked into the Criminal Justice offices, where his office was. He was walking past the secretary, when she spoke out.

"Dr. Reid. Dr. Reid."

"I'm sorry. I was ... just thinking."

"It's okay Dr. Reid. I just thought you would want to know that you have a visitor. She's sitting in your office. I hope that's okay. She said she was an old friend."

"Did she give a name?"

"Jennifer Jareau."

"JJ?" Reid walked away before she could say anything else.

JJ was sitting in his office. "Hey Spence. So, you quit the FBI and don't call me? I'm a little hurt."

"I ... I didn't know how to say it, I guess. The truth is, I'm still reeling from everyone else's reaction."

"They didn't take it well?"

"They all but tied me down until I promised to stay."

"I see it didn't work."

"No."

"Everyone did that? Even Emily?"

Reid got quiet and gave a wry little smile. "No. She's been great. I think she even backed Garcia off doing anything drastic."

"Did she?"

"So, you just decided to pay me a visit?"

"Friends do that."

"How did you know where I was? Come to think of it, how did you know I quit? Did Emily tell you?"

"Not exactly."

"You're not exactly here as a friend, are you?"

"I am here because I'm a friend. But it isn't a personal visit, you're right."

"They sent you?"

"What were you thinking Spence? A time machine? You're lucky they didn't lock you up over the weekend and have you committed."

"Who's they? The team? The Bureau? Or your new bosses? Except, they don't think building a time machine is crazy. Because they're building one."

"Are they?"

"Don't do that. Don't interrogate me like I'm just anyone else."

"Then don't play games and talk to me. If it wasn't for me, you would be having this discussion with someone in an office. Maybe they would have taken you during your lecture. They want to know if you stole it."

"Stole it?"

"They don't know you. What they know is you wrote a proposal that includes equations very close to official research. And you've never published anything like this before."

Reid smiled.

"What is it?" JJ asked.

"What?"

"You smiled. Have you written about this before?"

"In high school."

"What?"

"It was part of my application packet to Cal Tech. They even published it for me, just under a different name."

"A different name?"

"Spencer Williamson."

JJ had a puzzled look on her face.

"Williamson. As in William's son?" Reid explained.

"For your father." She smiled and shook her head. "Reid, did you pull this out and add things to it?"

"Yeah."

"Why? You had to know it would cause a stir."

"That's why. I was recruited pretty hard for the FBI when I was in college. I expected I would have to talk to a lot of people when I resigned. Except it was only the team who talked to me."

"So, what, this was a cry for attention?"

"It made me think maybe the FBI was told not to raise a fuss. Like maybe other government agencies wanted the opportunity to recruit me. Maybe in a few months. So I wanted to talk to them directly. I figured if they were working on something like this, they would send someone. I didn't think it would be you."

"What if they weren't?"

"But they are. I hope they read the whole proposal."

"Why?"

"Because in the appendix, I argue they shouldn't. The potential for disaster is too great."

"Spence ..."

"JJ, just tell them I don't want any part of government work anymore. Not now. Not ever."

"I wish you had chosen a less controversial way to do it."

"This was fun."

"Yeah, I think Emily enjoyed it."

"How do you know?"

"I talked to her today. She said she especially enjoyed the essay in the back, about the ethics of time travel."

"Yeah, I enjoyed writing that."

"Spence, you do know she loves you, right?"

"Like a sister maybe."

"No Spence. I mean she loves you. You said she didn't try to convince you to stay, right?"

"Right."

"You know why, don't you?"

"Because she respects my decision."

"Because if you're not an FBI agent, maybe the two of you can get together. Maybe the two of you can admit you love each other."

"You're wrong."

"No, Spence. I'm not."

* * *

><p>A little while later, Jennifer Jareau was walking to her car in the parking lot. She answered a call on her cell phone.<p>

"So, are you convinced," she asked.

"Yeah. We found the publication. He's a unique sort, isn't he? What was that crap about him being in love with a team mate?"

"None of your business."

"Agent Jareau, I thought we were working together."

"No. I was keeping you from embarrassing yourself. I've already talked to my real supervisor. You'll be hearing about all of this real soon, I'm sure."

JJ hung up the phone and drove away. She thought about what she said to Reid and Emily. True, neither one of them ever really said anything about feelings for the other one. But she was certain Reid and Emily felt that way about each other, they were just too damaged to admit in it the past.


	8. What are friends for?

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

><p>That night, Emily went into her hotel room, completely exhausted. She dropped her go bag on the floor and flopped on the bed. The details of the case swirled around around her. She closed her eyes, and the all the facts of the case were replaced with JJ's voice replaying in her head.<p>

_You know he loves you, right?_

JJ was wrong, of course. Or maybe Emily was assuming JJ meant romantic love when she was talking of platonic love. Or that Reid loves her like a sister. Yeah, that makes sense.

Emily sighed. The problem was, of course, she wanted JJ to be right. Emily finally admitted that to herself. She wanted him to love her, because she loved him. That's the real reason she didn't convince him to stay, because now they could be a couple.

Except he doesn't love her, not like that. And it's better to have him in her life a just a friend than not to have him in her life at all. So, nothing changes. We just keep on going like we have been.

She thought about calling Spencer, if for no other reason than to hear his voice, but she was just too tired to do anything. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

_The next thing Emily was aware of, was the feel of lips gently kissing her naked body along the spine. She moaned gently in contentment. She rolled over so she could look at the lover's eyes. When she did, she found he was just as naked as she was. She found herself looking into the eyes of Spencer Reid._

Emily's cellphone ringing woke her from the dream. She was momentarily disappointed. Then she had a feeling of dread. Was there another body? Then she saw the caller ID on the screen, it was Spencer.

"Hey, how's it going?"

"Hi Emily. I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"I must have dozed off. It's fine. "What's up?"

"I'm sorry, are you on a case?"

"Yeah, we left this morning."

"I'm sorry. I'm interrupting, aren't I?"

"No. I'm in my room. I just flopped on the bed and dozed off. It's no big deal."

"You know that's just your body telling you that you need to rest."

"This is also the same body that tingled every time Carl Evans looked at me my Senior Year of High School. Since he was a major jerk, obviously my body is an idiot. Are you going to tell me what's up or do I need to beat you up when I get back?"

A smiled twitched on Reid's lips as he listened to her. "No, I was just calling to see if you wanted to have dinner this week. But I know you can't commit to anything while you're on a case."

"I'd love to have dinner with you, as soon as we get back."

"Good." He paused for a moment. "So...JJ came to see me today."

"Yeah? I talked to her today. Did you tell her you were quitting?"

"I didn't quite get around to it yet."

"So how did she know?"

"Emily, she said you read my proposal."

"Yeah. You know that was a dumb ass move, right?"

"No I don't."

"Spencer, why are you burning bridges? You might not want to be here right now, but someday you might."

"No. I really won't. JJ said you enjoyed the appendix, with the ethics debate?"

She smiled. "That was nice. You had fun writing that, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did."

"So, what, you got pissed off at Hotch and Morgan, so you wrote this thing?"

"Well, a lot of it I wrote a long time ago."

"How long?"

"When I was in high school."

"Excuse me?"

"It was something I used to think about when the older kids shoved me in lockers."

"They didn't really do that, did they?"

"Among other things."

"I'm sorry."

"It's no big thing."

"Yes it is. No one should have to go through that."

"I don't think about it anymore."

"Of course you do. Whenever we have a case and a kid's being bullied, it all comes back. I know you think about it. You might not obsess over it, but you think about it."

"Well, maybe, but that time travel essay helped get me a scholarship to Cal Tech, so in a way they helped me pay for college."

"That's a good way to put a positive thing on it, I guess." Then something occurred to Emily. "Today was was your first lecture, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"How did it go?"

"I'm not certain. I mean, I had fun and it felt good. But that doesn't mean they got anything out of it. For all I know I just babbled and no one was there to keep me focused."

"Did it feel that way to you?"

"It never does."

"I'll tell you what, I'll take some time off next week and sit in. Then I can tell you how you're doing. How's that?"

"You don't have to, you know. I mean, I appreciate it, but you don't have to."

"I want to. That's what friends are for."

"Thank you. It's very nice." He paused. "So, how's the case going?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"I do. I mean, if you want to talk about it. The one thing I've always hated about the job was that very few people really understood it or wanted to listen to the things I saw. Mom was always talking about what a sad job I had. I just thought maybe, you might like to have someone to talk about it with."

"Thanks. I don't want to talk about it right now. Maybe when it's over, that might be nice."

"Okay. But, you know, if you needed help..."

"I thought you didn't want to do this job anymore?"

"I don't want to work for the government anymore. I still believe in the work. Besides, what are friends for? You know, if I can help I will. Always."

"Thank you."

They talked for a few more minutes, then Emily took a shower. She didn't feel quite so tired anymore.


	9. Job Offer

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

_A/N: My esteemed colleague (and fellow Spemily shipper) Dustytiger has suggested we get to the Reid/Prentiss together good stuff soon (in less than 5 chapters). The more i think about it, the more that seems a reasonable request. So, we will shoot for things to heat up in about five chapters. Unless Irontail intervenes, of course ..._

* * *

><p>Two days later, Spencer Reid had a visitor in his office who introduced himself as Dr. Morris Conklin. He was a thin, bony man in his 50s.<p>

"Dr. Reid, I have only recently been made aware of some of your publishing. In fact, were it not for a friend at Cal Tech, I would not realize just how much scholarly writing on a wide range of subjects you do."

"I don't know know what you mean."

"Dr. Reid, there's no need to be coy. I understand why you left the FBI. That's not the place for a man of your considerable talents."

Reid smiled in bemusement. "What talents would those be, Dr. Conklin?"

"When I was first shown your work, I didn't know who you were. I have to admit, though, it seemed familar to me. I'm sorry I didn't recognize where I saw it. I'm afraid I thought to might have stolen it. It wasn't until later I realized you simply published it under a different name. Very clever. A little unorthodox, but clever."

"And who showed you my work?"

"That doesn't matter. The point is, even this place can't make proper use of your talents. I, on the other, can appreciate just what you have to offer."

"Is that right? And why is that?"

"Dr. Reid, I manage a research facility. We do a lot of government contracts, but we do some work with the private sector too. The point is, though, I can offer you a position where you can make proper use of your talents. The kind of things you can envision, Dr. Reid, we can help you make a reality."

"So, you're offering me a job as a researcher?"

"I giving you an opportunity to work in a lab and make a difference in the world."

"By any chance, does this lab do the work I outlined in the document you first saw? Maybe you're working on a project just like the one I outlined?"

"I can't comment on what we might be working on, at least not until you're on board."

"I see. Well, I appreciate the offer. I, however, decline it. I'm quite happy where I'm at."

"Dr. Reid, how can you be? How can this possibly be satisfying you?"

"I like sharing knowledge , Dr. Conklin. It seems to me you spend a lot of time keeping secrets. I don't enjoy that very much."

"Dr. Reid, " Conklin began, but Spencer held up his hand.

"I just left government work, and I did it for a reason. I have no intention to returning to it ever. Not even to do research. Good day."

Dr. Conklin was smart enough to know when it was time to make a tactical retreat, but he was not declaring defeat on this front. Not when he knew he had a few more cards to play

"A job offer?" Emily said in surprise. It was Friday evening and the team was back from the case. She and Spencer were out at a restaurant having a casual dinner. He was telling her all about his visit from Dr. Conklin.

Reid shrugged his shoulders and continued to eat.

"How much were they offering?"

"We never got that far," Reid said.

"Why not?"

"I wasn't interested."

"Why? Just because this place did some government work?"

"No. Because I would have to keep secrets. What's the point of figuring things out if you can't tell people. He wouldn't even confirm how he got my proposal or that he's working on the same project."

"Still, going from a possible security risk to a job offer is pretty amazing, don't you think?"

"Not really."

"You're not surprised by this at all, are you?"

Reid smiled.

Emily had a sudden epiphany. "You knew this would happen. That's why you gave the proposal to Strauss. You knew people would see it."

"I'm getting all kinds of job offers, actually. This was the first one done in person, but I'm getting a lot of them. None of them interest me, but it's gratifying to get them."

"Why didn't you tell me that's what you were up to?"

"I guess I didn't feel a need to. We all have secrets, don't we?"

"You have a giant, secret stratagem going on, Dr. Reid."

"It's funny though, I'm enjoying teaching a lot more than I thought I would."

"Let's see how you feel mid-way through the semester. You might be singing a different tune then."

"We'll see."

"So, any other excitement in academia? Have you seduced any coeds yet?"

"I don't seduce coeds. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't know how."

"Excuse me, there's something you don't know?"

"Emily," he said in a reasonable tone, hoping she would relent from her teasing.

She smiled. "After all these years of studying human behavior, you don't understand how men seduce women? After catching men who do it, you don't have a clue?"

"There's a difference between studying behavior and doing it. I know a lot about the physics of shooting a gun, but I'm not good at it. "

"Except you've been an effective shooter in the field."

"That was mostly luck. But you missed my other point."

"Which is?"

"I don't want to seduce any co-eds."

"Then who do you want to seduce."

"No one. I'm not looking to seduce anyone."

"Why not?"

"Because what I told you before is true. I only have a short amount of time to make a difference in the world. I don't have time for that."

"Don't be an idiot Spencer. Of course you do."

"Emily," he began, but she cut him off.

"No, even if it's only a matter of time before you end up like you're mother, and that's a big if, even then you should make time for that."

"Like you do?"

"We're not talking about me."

"Which is a great defense mechanism. You said you were going to talk to me about the case, and we've talked about me the whole time."

"It was just a case."

"You and I know there's no such thing."

"This time there was. It was just a power excitation rapist who added killing to his ritual. Nothing we haven't seen before."

"Except..."

"Except what?"

"I don't know, but something about it bothered you. More than usual. Something about it really took a lot out of you. What was it?"

"How do you know how much it took out of me?"

"We've talked a few times when you were on the case. And on the flight back. I could hear it in your voice. What was it?"

She sighed. "It took us too long to catch him. We should've done it a lot faster."

"You were two agents down."

"That wasn't it."

"Then what was?"

"I don't know. Like I said, he wasn't anything special. We should have been able to catch him faster."

"Emily, no matter how good your profile is or how smart you are, it's always going to take time."

"I know that. In my head, I know that but ..."

He put his hand on top of hers. "It's okay. You did your best. That's all you can do."

"I just wish our best was a little better."

"I know." He ran his thumb along the back of her hand. The feeling of his touch made Emily feel a lot better. It occurred to Emily they would never have a moment like this if he was still on the team, because she would never let anyone on the team see her this vulnerable.

After a few moments of silence, she smiled and said,"I still think you're seducing co-eds and not telling me."

"Is that your learned opinion as a profiler?"

"Call it woman's intuition."

"Well, you're wrong."

"We'll see. Remember, I'm going to your lecture next week. I bet you anything I'll catch you seducing at least one coed."

Spencer couldn't think of anything else to do but smile.


	10. Reid's Lecture

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

><p>As Emily promised, the next week she took some time off and attended one of Reid's lectures.<p>

He actually did a good job. Emily went with him once to do a recruitment talk, and he didn't do well at all. Mostly because Reid was at his most relaxed when imparting knowledge and facts. Trying to convince students that a career in the FBI, especially the BAU, was a good idea was out of his comfort zone.

In that lecture hall, talking about victimology and the different kinds of rapists, Reid was in his element. At one point, Emily had to take out a small notebook and jot a few things down. Usually when Reid rattled off facts, they were on a case and they had to work to get him to focus on the task at hand. In here, though, going in depth on the subject was exactly what was needed.

One of the most interesting things, though, happened right before the lecture started. Emily found herself sitting behind three female students. They were all comparing notes on their teacher.

"He's hot." One of them said. "I mean, not hot like big football player hot but still..."

"He's got a girlfriend Mary," her friend said. "Or a wife."

"No he doesn't Theresa," Mary said. "He doesn't have a ring or a ring line."

"Girlfriend then. Jessica said a woman helped him move into his office."

"That could have been just a friend."

"Just a friend helps him move stuff into his office? No, 'just friends' help you move into an apartment. You help people move into an office when they're really close to you."

"It doesn't matter if she's a friend, a wife or a girlfriend," Mary said,"I could get him to forget about her."

"I'm not so sure," a third girl said. "Ruth saw him in his office. She tried flirting with him and got nowhere."

"Ellie, Ruth is a whore." Mary said.

"I'm not saying any different. But she usually gets somewhere no matter who she flirts with. She got nowhere. Maybe he doesn't respond to flirting."

"And maybe he's just a good a judge of human nature that he knew she was a whore."

Emily didn't get to hear anymore because that's when Reid came in and the class began. Emily did notice that Reid was wearing his horn-rimmed glasses. She hardly ever saw him wear those anymore, and she had to admit she liked how they looked on him. She also considered the conversation she overheard. Reid was incredibly bad on picking up on hints spoken by friends. Which meant any hopes Emily ever had of the two of them becoming more than friends by chance was probably just a fantasy.

If she wanted to be more than friends with Spencer, she would need to take the bull by the horns. There were just two problems with doing that. First, she wasn't certain that's what she really wanted. The second was how would he react to that?

It always go back that question of fearing the consequences of wanting more to be more than friend, doesn't it, Emily thought to herself.

As Reid began his lecture, Prentiss pushed the questions to the back of her mind. The problem was she knew the answer to the first one. She knew it the moment she heard the girls question if he a girlfriend. She wanted to say,"Of course he does. Me, so look but don't touch."

After the lecture was over, Emily walked with Reid back to his office.

"So, what you think?"

"I thought you did well." Emily said. "In fact, the students right in front of me were hanging your every word."

"Really?"

"Yes. Some of the girls have a crush on you."

"I doubt that."

"Doubt it all you want. One of them sounded quite determined to seduce you. It also sounds like one of their friends tried to flirt with you. I think her name was Ruth."

"Ruth Shireman?"

"I just caught a first name. Apparently she tried flirting with you, but you didn't flirt back. There's also a rumor you have a girlfriend."

"Where would they get that idea?"

"Someone saw me help you move into your office. However, I don't think they made the connection."

"I don't understand what they could be interested in. Do you think this is how they learned to socialize with men? Only in a sexual context?"

"Or they think you're cute? Seriously, didn't you ever have a crush on you professors?"

"No."

"Oh come on, never?"

"Never. I mean, I puberty hadn't quite hit when I was in college."

"Yeah, but eventually it did."

"I was never really attracted to my teachers like that, though. Can we talk about something else? I don't like thinking about that time of my life."

"Why?"

"I felt guilty leaving Mom alone and going to college and then..."

"Then you committed her."

"Yeah."

Emily linker her arm in his, and kissed him on the cheek. "You are a very dear person Spencer. And what you did was the best thinkg for her."

"I know that. I just..." he went quiet again.

"It's okay."

They walked in silence for a while, still walking arm in arm. Spencer barely noticed, still thinking about his decision to commit his mother when he was 18. Emily, on the other hand, was aware of the people watching them. She even noticed the student named Mary watching them. Emily smiled at her. Mary's response was to glare angrily at Emily.

The satisfaction Emily felt at that moment told her she knew the answer to one of her questions. She absolutely wanted to be more than friends with Spencer Reid. She wanted it more than anything else she wanted in a while.


	11. Office Hours

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

><p>As Reid and Emily walked arm in arm, they were observed by many people, most of them were students. The girls expressions were a range of bemusement, anger and jealousy. Emily noticed those, and felt a certain satisfaction that a few of them now thought Reid was off the market. She was certain, however, that Reid had no clue she had her arm entangled in his. One victory at a time, she told herself.<p>

There was one witness that Emily didn't notice. A good distance off, looking through a telephoto lenses, someone in a car was taking pictures of Reid and Emily walking arm in arm. The person using the camera made a mental note to follow this brunette who was literally hanging on Dr. Reid. Maybe she would be the leverage Conklin was looking for.

Meanwhile, Emily and Reid went into the building where his office was. When they entered, Emily disengaged her arm from Reid's. She couldn't tell if he noticed. They walked into the suite of offices for the adjunct faculty. Reid walked past the secretary who's desk sat in the middle of the room, ignoring her attempt to get his attention. Emily, looked after him, then saw a mixture of hopelessness and irritation on the secretary's face.

Emily walked up to the secretary, who had a stack of pink slips of paper in her hand. Emily smiled her warmest smile and said,"Hi, my name is Emily. I'm a friend of Dr. Reid's. Are those for him?"

"Yes. His messages and requests for appointments."

"He doesn't have voice mail?"

"He hasn't set up his voice mail box. It's all on computer, but he won't set it up so it goes to me."

"On the computer?"

"We went to a soft phone system last year. His phone and voice mail are all on his computer, but IT doesn't even think he uses it."

"He might not. Believe it or not, he doesn't actually like to use computers himself. He doesn't mean to make things more difficult, sometimes he just gets lost in his head. I'm sorry, what's your name?"

"Susan."

"Well, Susan, why don't I take those from you," Emily suggested and Susan gratefully gave the papers to Emily. "Has he been shown what to do on the computer to use his voice mail?"

"I showed him once but, but if he's forgotten I'll gladly show him again."

"No, once you show him something, he doesn't forget how to do it. It's just getting him to do it that's the trick. Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

Emily walked back to Reid's office. She saw him sitting down at his desk, looking through one of his books.

"Put that down Dr. Reid. You have calls to return."

"I don't even have a phone."

"It's part of the computer. Susan already showed you how. By the way, you need to send her flowers."

"Flowers?"

"To apologize for making her job twice as hard as it has to be."

"Emily, I don't understand."

"You chose to leave the FBI. You wanted to teach, fine. But that means answering phone calls and not being a nuisance to the department's secretary. Now turn on the computer."

"Emily, I keep telling them I don't need one."

"It has your phone and voice mail in there. Your students need to be able to contact you, so turn it on. Now!"

Emily said it with such force that Reid turned it on immediately, almost like a scolded child. He quickly logged in and Emily gave him the stack of phone messages. As she thought, he remembered how to use everything. Emily made sure the first thing he did was set up his voice mail box. Then he got to work returning his calls. About 10 minutes later, Emily got a call on her cell from Garcia. She excused herself to take it in the hallway.

"What's up PG?"

"Em, I just talked to JJ. About Friday night for girl's night out?"

"Sorry, I can't make it. I've got plans."

"Plans?"

"I do have a life outside of work."

"What's his name."

"None of your business PG."

"Emily!"

"I can do it any other night."

"You will tell me who this guy is."

"What makes you think it's a guy?"

"You wouldn't give up on girl's night for anything else, would you?"

"I'm still not telling you."

"I have ways to find out. I'll talk to you later." With that Garcia hung up.

Emily walked back into Reid's office. He was in between returning calls. He looked up at her,"do you have to go. I mean, do you have a case?'

"No. Garcia just wanted to get together on Friday night."

"Oh." He seemed a little disappointed. "I was hoping you could come over Friday."

"Oh?" Emily tried to sound casual, even though she was hoping she would be spending Friday with him anyway.

"Well I...I mean, I didn't know what we would do but I was starting to get used to...I mean the last few Fridays we ..."

"Let me stop you right there, Dr. Reid," Emily said. "I told her I had plans, because I was assuming we would be doing something. Look, you think about it and I'll call you tonight. right now, just keep returning phone calls." Then she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

After she left, Reid lightly touched the area of his cheek where she kissed him. He hadn't imagined it, had he? She did walk arm in arm with him, didn't she? She did kiss him, granted on the cheek, but she kissed him. Things are changing with her, aren't they?

He smiled, then went back to returning calls.

Meanwhile, Emily stopped by Susan's desk and gave the secretary her business card. "If you have any more trouble, please give me a call," she told the secretary. Then she walked to her car, smiling the whole way. She was in such a good mood, she didn't even notice the car that was following her.


	12. Phone A Friend

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

><p>The next day, the team flew out to Detroit, MI on a case. The request came from a precinct captain, but one of his detectives made an arrest before the team got there.<p>

The Unsub perpetrated home invasions and killed the occupants of the house. The problem was there was a partial print found in one of the homes that matched a professional burglar named Walter Harrison. Detective Simon Pierce arrested Harrison solely on the evidence of the fingerprint. The problem was that there was no other physical evidence to tie Harrison to the other crimes and he didn't fit the profile.

Harrison had never been violent at all or left any kind of fingerprint behind before. His previous pattern was a careful entrance into the house when he knew no one would be here. He was skillful with picking locks and disabling alarm systems. The Unsub was sloppy and violent. He left the places a mess.

Det. Pierce was adamant. "We have a fingerprint."

"It's a partial print," Hotch said. "And there's no other evidence that Harrison was even in the house."

As Hotch and the detective argued, Emily walked out of the room. Morgan stopped her.

"What are you doing?"

"The same thing you do when you're stumped on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?' Call a friend."

"What do you mean?"

"Det. Pierce thinks a partial print that matches Harrison means he's the Unsub. So, we need to show him he's putting too much faith in a partial print."

"I don't think Garcia is going to be able to help with that."

"She's not the friend I was going to call."

Morgan looked at her blankly at her for a moment until he realized just who she was going to call. "What is he going to tell you that will help us?"

"The history of the fingerprint." She said with a smile. Then she walked into the hallway and dialed Reid.

When he picked up Emily said,"Hey Dr. Reid. I need your help. Can you take a break from seducing co-eds and help me?"

On the other end of the phone, Reid sighed. "You know Emily, that joke is never going to be as funny as you think it is."

"I'm not joking. Didn't you notice that about half of your students are women? I think most of them would gladly have sex in your office."

"You're wrong."

"Anyway, I need to ask you about fingerprints."

"What about them?"

"You said in class they have a reputation that isn't backed up by hard science."

"That's true. The main fallacy is that no two sets of fingerprints are identical, but no one has ever actually tried to check that. The other problem is that there is no standard procedure to authenticating fingerprint matches. Some fingerprint examiners used 6 points for matching other use 8. I take it there's a problem with a fingerprint?"

"We're on a case and one of the detectives made an arrest based on a partial print."

"Does Garcia have the partial print?"

"Not at the moment."

"Send it to her along with the person's fingerprint the detective says it matches. Then have her do a wavelet analysis."

"Why?"

"The Bureau set up a system to analyze images like fingerprints that's more accurate the point system. She can tell if it could be a match. You might also a have her run the partial print and see what happens. I take it they only ran the print locally."

"Yes."

"The Bureau's database has better images than local databases."

"Thanks Reid."

Emily walked back in the room and found Morgan. "How is it going?"

"They're still going at it."

"Reid had a suggestion. Did you send Garcia the partial?"

"Not yet."

"Send it and have her run it. Then, send her Harrison's prints. Reid said she needs to do a wavelet analysis."

"Will she know what that is?"

Garcia did, as a matter of fact, know what it was. Even better, she was able to run the partial print and found a few possible matches. Including one that promised to eliminate Harrison as a suspect.

That evening Emily called Reid.

"How's it going?" Reid asked.

"Better, now that the fingerprint issue has been cleared."

"What happened?"

"Well, it turns out that partial print matches a lot of people. Including Det. Pierce."

"That's an unusual coincidence."

"It turns out he used to date the victim."

"Emily, did he," Reid began to ask.

"After two hours of being interrogated by Rossi and Hotch, he confessed. He killed her."

"Just her? Or is he the unsub?"

"We don't think so. But at least we can now focus on finding the unsub and aren't arresting an innocent man. I couldn't have done it without your help."

"I think you're giving me more credit than I'm owed."

"That's because you're modest." Emily decided she wanted to change the subject and talk more about Spencer. "So, how's everything going, professor?"

"It's good. I'm just a little overwhelmed."

"What is?"

"All the phone calls. I didn't realize I would be getting this many calls for jobs."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm getting about 20 calls a day from recruiters and headhunters."

"I didn't realize there were that many companies in the DC area."

"The calls are from across the country." The pride in Reid's voice made Emily smile and the possibility of what all these calls might mean caused a knot to form in Emily's stomach.

"Are these good offers?"

"I don't know. I'm telling most of them I'm not interested."

Emily mentally sighed with relief. But then she said,"What do you mean you don't know? You are actually listening to what they have to offer before you say you're not interested, right?"

"Not really."

Emily couldn't believe what she was saying,"Don't be an idiot."

"What do you mean?"

"You said you wanted to explore all your options, when you left, remember?"

"So?"

"So, you took the first easy thing you can find."

"What are you saying?"

"I think you need to give some of these offers a chance."

"Emily," he started to protest, but Emily cut him off.

"If you blow this opportunity, I'll kill you. Do you understand me Spencer. Don't get me wrong, I like being able to spend time with you like we've been doing. But from the beginning I supported your decision to leave the FBI because you wanted to see if there was something better for you. You can only be sure of that if you look. So, talk to them and listen. If there isn't an offer that honestly interests you, fine. But don't turn these down because you're being lazy."

"I think that's the first time anyone's called me lazy."

"That's what friends are for."

"To call each other lazy?"

"To tell each other the truth and make sure they don't miss opportunities. I don't want you miss out if there's a great opportunity for you."

"You're a good friend Emily. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I feel the same way about you, Reid."

"Spencer."

"What?"

"We're not really colleagues anymore. Call me Spencer."

Emily smiled. "Sure, Spencer."

* * *

><p>A few days later, the case was wrapped up and the team was flying home.<p>

Emily was reading a book when Morgan said,"So how often do you talk to him?"

"Who?"

"Reid."

"That's none of your business."

"That often?"

Emily put down her book. "We're friends, Derek. It's nice to have one person in my life who understands my life. Someone I can talk to about anything. What does it matter?"

"I just was surprised you thought to call him."

"He walked away from the job, Derek. Not us. I can't help it if I'm the only one who calls him."

"I don't think he wants to talk to me."

"That's funny. He said the same thing about you last week. One of you needs to bite the bullet and just call."

"It's not easy. Things didn't end well with us."

"Then don't let it end that way, Derek. Just call him."

"I don't know what to say."

"Do you miss him?"

"Yes."

"Do you regret how things ended?"

"You know I do."

"Tell him that. You will be stunned how much he feels the same way."

"He told you that?"

Emily smiled. "Among other things."

While Morgan and Emily talked about Spencer, Rossi smiled. An idea was forming in his head, about a way to get Reid back on the team. Prentiss didn't know it yet, but she was going to help him convince Reid to come back.

Not now. It was too soon. Rossi had to work on Strauss first, but he was convinced he could make it happen. Pleased with himself for conceiving this plan, he settled himself in his seat and dozed off.


	13. Girl's Night Out

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

><p>A couple of weeks later, Emily finally had her girls night out with JJ and Garcia. They were walking around, shopping. Well, they were walking past shops. Mostly JJ and Emily kept Garcia from buying things. The last time they didn't chaperone Garcia, she bought enough stuff for Henry to fully load up a Mexican burro.<p>

"So, what have you two heard from Spence?" JJ asked.

"Why don't you ask Emily?" Garcia said. "She talks to him all the time."

"Is that right Em?" JJ asked in a mischievous tone of voice.

"We call each other occasionally. That's it." Emily said.

"Really?" JJ asked.

"They talk everyday," Garcia said.

"We do not." That was true. It was closer to a couple of times a week.

"When was the last time you talked to him?"

Emily hesitated. "Last night," she admitted.

"Really?" JJ arched an eyebrows suggestively.

"We were just making plans for Friday, that's all."

"Friday?"

"We take each other out to dinner once a week that's all. And before either one of you makes an accusation, we take turns paying. Period."

"What a minute," Garcia said, "this is why you're always busy on Friday nights. You're having dinner with Reid."

"And?" Emily was trying to figure out how this turned into an interrogation.

"I'm just saying most people used Friday as a date night."

"Well, it's just two friends having dinner." Unfortunately, that was true. Despite Emily trying to drop hints, Reid was being annoyingly dense. Emily was trying not to be ridiculously obvious, but she was about ready to just stamp him down. The problem was, she didn't know how he would react.

"So you two are just friends, right?" JJ said.

"Right." Emily hoped the disappointment she felt wasn't evident in her voice. It took Emily a moment to realized that both JJ and Garcia were standing in front of a restaurant, peering in through the glass wall at the people dining.

"So," JJ said, "it wouldn't bother you if he was on a date."

"Of course not," Emily said. But there was something in JJ voice that alerted her it wasn't an idle question. She went over to where her friends were standing to see Spencer Reid sitting at a table with an attractive blond woman in her early 30s.

For a moment Emily couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. She felt a powerful knot form in her stomach. How _could_ he? She was giving him _signs_. He was too dense to realize what she wanted but this _woman_ he was taking out?

Fine. Just be that way, Dr. Reid.

She turned around and walked away, trying not to react outwardly about what she just saw.

"EMILY" she heard Garcia shout.

Emily turned around. "What?"

She saw her two friends running up to her. Was she really walking that fast?

When they caught up to her, she could tell they were concerned.

"Are you okay?" Garcia asked.

"Fine." she said coldly. She didn't mean to sound mad or take it out on them.

"So," JJ said in a gentle tone, "you two are more than friends, right?"

Emily sighed. She didn't know why she was trying to keep this a secret. "Unfortunately, no."

"So, you really do want to be more, right?" JJ asked.

"Yeah. I would have thought he would have picked up on it by now. How can he be such a good profiler, and not pick up when I'm sending him signals?"

JJ smiled. "Emily, Spence is one of _those_ guys."

"_Those_ guys? What the hell are you talking about?"

"He isn't going to realize how you feel unless you tell him. And he won't make a move unless he thinks you like him. He'll be too afraid you'll reject him."

"But he should know better."

"But he doesn't. That's just who he is."

"Emily," Garcia said," you need to get in there."

"In where?"

"The restaurant. Go in there and tell him to stop being an idiot."

"I'm not going to make a scene in there."

"At least he would get the message loud and clear."

"And possibly never speak to me again."

"Nothing ventured nothing gained."

JJ nodded in agreement.

Emily was about to make a derogatory comment about cliches when her phone rang. As she picked it up, Garcia protested.

"Don't you answer that right now. We're having a crucial girl's night conversation."

Emily might have listened to her, except it was Reid calling her. She answered it.

"Spencer?" she said.

"Emily where are you?"

"I'm ... what does that matter?"

"I thought I just saw you. I'm in a restaurant on 5th St. Are you anywhere near there?"

Emily thought about how to answer. She looked at JJ and Garcia. "Yes. That was me you saw."

"You have no idea how happy you just made me."

"What do you mean? Isn't your date going well?"

"Date?" he sounded puzzled.

"Spencer, you're having dinner with an attractive woman."

"But it's not a date. I told you I was meeting a recruiter."

"She's a recruiter?"

"That's not the point."

"So what's the point?"

"She put something in my drink."

"What?"

"We were talking. I took a bite of food, and I saw her put something in my drink. She thinks I didn't notice, but I did."

"Where are you right now?"

"I'm in the bathroom. Emily, I need your help."

JJ and Garcia saw Emily's eyes light up with rage.

"Did you drink it?"

"Of course not."

"Did you spill it?"

"I didn't think that would be a good idea."

"Okay. I'll be right there Spencer. Go back to the table, and whatever you do don't freak out."

"Why would I freak out?" But Emily had already hung up.

"JJ," Emily said in a voice tinged with rage,"you might want to call an ambulance."

"Why?"

"She's going to need it. She put something in his drink."

"She what?"

"Follow me, and make sure we get his drink. We'll need it for evidence."

Emily didn't wait for JJ's reply, she just walked away. It was probably a good think she didn't have a gun on her.

JJ and Garcia stared at each other for a minute.

"What do you think she's going to do?" Garcia asked.

"I don't know. Go after her. I have to make a call."

Garcia chased after Emily, not entirely certain what to hope for.


	14. Reckless

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

_A/N: This may be the chapter everyone has been waiting for. Emily might be acting a little OOC here, but I think given the situation, it's justified. I hope everyone enjoys it._

* * *

><p>Reckless.<p>

That's the word they used to describe Emily Prentiss at her previous duty stations. Most of them, any way.

But Emily turned over a new leaf. She wasn't going to be reckless anymore. Not since she joined the BAU.

Of course that was before this blonde woman tried to hurt Spencer. Emily was already worked up over her frustration with Reid not recognizing the signals she was sending him. For all she knew, all he wanted to be was friends. Now this woman was trying to drug him.

Drug him or poison him?

By the time Emily walked into the restaurant, she was so worked up, she was ready to kill people with her bare hands. A room full of armed men wouldn't have made her back down. She was ready to storm in there, grab the bitch by the hair and drag her out.

Then Emily saw the woman, and she recognized the face. Not in the sense of knowing her name, but she saw her face before. But where?

She couldn't spend a lot of time contemplating it, because the restaurant host was coming to seat her.

"Can I help you ma'am?" he asked.

"No thanks, I see my party." She walked towards Reid's table. "There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you." Fortunately there was an empty chair at the table. "Really, you are terrible at giving directions Spencer. Next time, we're taking the same car."

"Emily, I..."

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've met," the woman said. "My name is Elaine Simpson. I didn't realize you were going to be here, Emily is it?"

"I'm sure you didn't. It was a little last minute, wasn't it Spencer?'

"That's very accurate," Reid replied.

"You know, Spencer, I'm a little thirsty. Can I have some of your drink?"

"Are you sure?" Reid asked.

Emily smiled. "Just a sip."

"Okay."

"Don't be silly," Elaine said. "We can get you a drink." The look of panic in her eyes was unmistakeable. She was lifting her hand to gesture a server to come over, but Emily grabbed it and forced it down on the table.

"What's wrong Elaine?" Emily asked with a smile. "Don't you think I would like it?" She dropped the smile,"or don't you think I would like what you put in it?"

"What do you mean?" she gave a nervous smile, but Emily knew she had her.

Emily squeezed Elaine's wrist, hard. "We haven't met, but I've seen you around, haven't I?"

"I ..."

Emily squeezed her wrist even tighter, causing Elaine to yelp in pain.

"Emily," Reid protested, but Emily's focus was on Elaine.

"Just remember one thing," Emily said,"I'm not afraid to break you arm in public. If I think you meant to kill Dr. Reid here, I will kill you right now."

"Kill ... no, nothing like that...no you don't understand."

"Explain it to me. Make me understand." Emily growled at her.

"It was just supposed to make him a little more pliable. So he'd go back to my place."

"Your place?" Emily squeezed harder.

"Conklin said..."

"Conklin?" Reid said.

"Who's Conklin?" Emily asked him.

"He runs a research facility. He tried to recruit me a few weeks ago. I turned him down."

"No one turns him down," Elaine said. "If you don't say yes, he keeps digging until he finds a way to make you say yes. He'll have you followed if he has to."

"That's where I know you," Emily said. "Around my neighborhood. You were following me."

"We needed to know if you were his girlfriend or something."

"What was the plan? Take pictures of the two of you together? Try to blackmail him?"

Elaine nodded.

Emily's eyes went wide with rage. She jumped up from her chair, still holding Elaine's arm, and literally dragged the woman out of the restaurant. She ignored Spencer shouting her name over and over.

Garcia was talking with the host, and they both tried to stop her from leaving the restaurant, but she just moved right though them, still holding on to Elaine. Elaine was trying to call for help, but was so scared it came out as squeaky yelps. One she had her prisoner outside, Emily dragged to nearby alley and almost threw her against the side of building.

"You bitch!" she snarled. "What the hell does this Conklin want with him? How long has he been planning this?"

Elaine tried to talk. Her mouth moved, but no sound came out.

"Are you alone? Where's the rest of them? Who was supposed to take the incriminating pictures?"

Elaine still couldn't talk. All she could squeak out was "No ... no one else."

"I don't believe you." Emily pressed her forearm against Elaine's throat. "You tell me the truth or I will kill you. I can tell you're afraid of Conklin. Whoever he is, I'm worse."

"Emily, stop it!" JJ was there, but Emily ignored her.

Elaine looked at JJ, hoping briefly dawning that maybe JJ could save her from the crazed Emily.

"Don't look at her. She can't save you. Only the truth. What was the plan? Are you it or are there more people?"

"Emily Theresa Prentiss cut that out this instant!"

Emily and JJ turned around to see Reid there. Neither one of them recognized the bellowing voice as his. He looked angry.

"Let her go right now! Now!" His tone was firm, but not loud.

Emily glared at him, but she let Elaine go. JJ grabbed the woman and took her away.

Reid walked into the alley. He dropped his angry expression, his face now just concerned. "Emily, what are you doing."

"Protecting you, that's what! That woman...you heard her. She was going to ..."

"It sounds to me like she was under orders to seduce me. How that was going to convince me to do anything I don't understand."

"That's because you're a moron."

"What do you mean?"

Emily grunted and growled with frustration. Then she grabbed Reid and slammed him against the wall. "You idiot! They thought I was your girlfriend! They saw us together and thought we were intimate! Everyone thinks that. You are the only one who's so fucking obtuse that you don't realize what I want from you."

"Which is what." His voice was quiet, almost a whisper.

Emily kissed him. It wasn't a gentle kiss either, it was a hungry, ferocious, desperate open mouth kiss full on his lips. The suddenness and ferocity took Reid by surprise. Then, after a few minutes, he started to return the kiss. She could feel his fingers grip her hair, and his other arm wrap around her torso, pulling her tight against him.

They were still like that when Garcia came to the alley and said, "Are you two okay?"

They ignored her.

Garcia froze like that, completely uncertain what to do next. She stood there for a minute, trying to get their attention, then she walked away.

She walked over to JJ. It looked like JJ had managed to get the police there. They had Elaine in custody.

"Are they okay?" JJ asked.

Garcia hesitated for a moment. "Uh, I think they need a moment alone. But they seemed okay. In fact, I think they may have come to an understanding."


	15. Kissing in Public

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

><p>Reid and Emily were still kissing when JJ walked over to the alley. She cleared her throat, but they showed no signs of hearing her.<p>

"Excuse me!" she said louder. They still didn't seem to hear her. "Are you two trying to get arrested for public lewdness!"

They stopped kissing and faced JJ.

JJ looked at them with her eyebrows raised,"So what just happened?"

"I took Garcia'a advice," Emily said.

"Garcia didn't say anything about assaulting someone or dragging her out of the restaurant. I managed to convince the police and the manager that she's some kind of fugitive we've been hunting. This is the second time since I've left I'm cleaning up your mess. So, what's going on?"

"Actually, JJ," Reid said,"last time it didn't have anything to do with Emily. That was all my fault. Tonight is only 40% my fault. Well, 30%."

"What does that mean?" JJ asked.

"Yes, Spencer," Emily said,"what does that mean?"

"Well, what just happened is I agreed to meet with a recruiter like Emily told me I should."

"Are you seriously trying to blame me for this?"

"Well, not entirely. But you are the one who insisted I should talk to recruiters."

"Talk to, not date. Not take to a restaurant like you're on a date."

"It was a dinner meeting. I've had two this week."

"You didn't tell me that."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Listen to me you..."

"Guys!" JJ yelled, cutting any further discussion off. "Who is she?"

"She works for Dr. Morris Conklin," Reid said.

"Conklin?" JJ asked.

"He runs a research facility and," Reid started to say.

"I know who he is," JJ interrupted him in a harsh tone. "All right. You two are going to go home now. I will get some statements from you later."

"Why don't we give them to the police right now?" Reid asked.

"They aren't handling the investigation. I am."

"I don't understand."

"You don't need to. Go home, and try not to get arrested for anything else."

"We haven't been arrested for anything," Reid said.

"Well, keep it that way." JJ walked away.

As soon as JJ was out of sight, Emily grabbed Reid and started kissing him again.

"Emily," he protested, "we're in public.

"So?" She moved him against the wall and started kissing him again.

"But Emily..." he kept protesting.

"Stop talking while I'm kissing you."

"We could get arrested."

"For what?"

"Indecent exposure or public lewdness."

"Only if we take off our clothes. Interrupt me one more time and I will rip off your clothes."

"But we promised JJ we wouldn't get arrested."

"No, she told us not to get arrested. We didn't promise her anything. You know, you didn't mind kissing me a few minutes ago."

"I ... wasn't thinking."

"Let's go back to that."

"Emily, what are you doing?"

"I'm taking over."

"Taking over?"

"I was waiting for you to be ready. I was content with giving you signals, but you're doing a lousy job. You keep taking me to dinner, but that's it. You refuse to admit we're moving past just being friends or anything. So, I'm taking over."

"Emily, I mean we can't be cause we ..."

"Work together? Except we don't. Someone quit, remember?"

"Oh. Right. I ...you know, I don't exactly have a lot of experience with ...uh I mean..."

She kissed him again lightly on the lips. "I don't care about how experienced you are. Even if I did, I know you're a fast learner. Now ," she leaned in to kiss him again, but he held up his hand. "What now?"

"Well, your pupils are dilated."

"So?"

"And after what happened in the restaurant, you adrenaline level is elevated."

"So?"

"So, that means you're probably quite aroused right now."

"And your interruptions are starting to aggravate me."

"So, wouldn't it be better if we moved this to a more comfortable location. Like either your place and mine? Where we can let things go much further than kissing?"

She smiled. "I told you were a fast learner." She kissed him again before they left.

While Emily and Reid were carrying on with their evening, JJ was on the phone.

"It's me. " she told the man on the other end.

"What's going on Agent Jareau?" The man sounded almost bored.

"It's Conklin."

"Morris? What about him?"

"He's still trying to recruit Dr. Reid."

"So?"

"He sent someone to try to seduce him. She put something in his drink."

"Something?"

"I'm having it tested, but she confirmed it was a date rape drug. She doesn't know what it is exactly, but she's done this for Conklin before."

"Son of a bitch!" He didn't sound bored anymore. "Who has her?"

"We do. The police think she's a fugitive and they're transferring her to our custody."

"And who do they think we are?"

"Right now, the FBI."

"And Dr. Reid?"

"He saw her doing it. He contacted me. There was a scuffle at the restaurant but I smoothed it over."

"All right. Keep on her. Find out everything she knows. Don't do anything else. Report to me tomorrow morning. What's going on with Dr. Reid?"

"He's with a friend."

"A friend? Which friend?"

"One of his former colleagues, Emily Prentiss."

"Do you trust her?"

"Implicitly."

"All right. Check with me before you make contact with them again. Good work Agent."

"Yes sir."

JJ hung up the phone. Part of her was happy Emily and Reid were moving forward, but she wished it hadn't happened like this. Despite the fact Conklin was partially responsible for that joy, JJ decided she really didn't like that man. In fact, going after Dr. Morris Conklin was now at the top of her to do list.


	16. Hot Beds

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

><p>When JJ hung up the phone, Garcia was right there.<p>

"So, I guess Girl's Night Out is over."

"Sorry, Penelope," JJ said. "This just became a work night for me."

"What's going on Jayje?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're not a media liaison for the Pentagon, are you?"

"It's ... complicated."

"Is this something you can tell me?"

"I'm sorry. It's ...no. I can't really tell anyone."

"And how about what just happened? Who is this woman who tried to hurt Reid?"

"That's also complicated."

"Where are Reid and Emily?"

"Either they went back to making out in the alley or they went somewhere else to ...you know."

"At least that's not complicated," Garcia said with a smile.

"Well, I hope not. This is Reid we're talking about."

"I have faith in Emily."

* * *

><p>As Reid and Emily were walking to the restaurant parking lot, Emily suddenly cried out, "Oh shit!"<p>

"What's the matter?"

"They had us under surveillance."

"I know. Just try not to think about that."

"No, you don't understand. What if they still have us under surveillance? Maybe they haven't stopped."

"But she said ..."

"Did she seem like a seasoned operative to you? She may not know to the extent things are happening."

"So, what do you want to do?"

"You know what I want. I want to go somewhere and make up for lost time with you. But we have to deal with these..." She was searching for the right word.

"Why don't we do both?"

"What do you mean?"

"If we don't know if they're, wouldn't we have to assume they're watching?"

"That would be the smart thing to assume." Emily wasn't certain where he was going with this.

"So, they might be watching us right now."

"Yes."

Reid leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. Then he pulled her in closer and whispered in her ear,"so if they see us going home and being intimate, they wouldn't expect us to do anything, right?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"I don't think I showed you my workbench. I've been working on some electronics projects. Don't you think turnabout might be fair play?"

Emily kissed him lightly on the lips and whispered in his ear,"I like this plan. But we have to lull them into a false sense of security first."

"I think we can do that."

* * *

><p>Henry Shaw was sitting in his car, not far from Dr. Reid's apartment. He had gotten the call that things hadn't gone according to plan at the restaurant. So, here he was, back to watching Spencer Reid's apartment. He didn't mind the overtime he was getting paid to watch the good doctor, he just didn't think he would see anything interesting tonight.<p>

Dr. Reid was something of a homebody.

There was speculation that the brunette was his girlfriend. Shaw knew better. Good friends, maybe, but not a girlfriend. In the weeks he watched Reid, he never saw the two of them do more than hug. Shaw saw Reid's car pull in and watched him walk to his door. Then he saw the brunette pull in too.

Then he saw the two of them kiss each other. This wasn't a gently goodnight kiss, either. It was more like a five alarm fire, with lots of touching. That was his first surprise of the evening.

It took a long time for them to stop kissing and go into the apartment. Shaw wondered what she saw in him. Dr. Reid seemed like a man who lived in his head, without either a clue what to do with a woman and he probably didn't want one. Fortunately for Shaw, the curtains were drawn.

First they spent a lot of time kissing in his living room. Shaw got some pictures of the two of them in the living room. Once they went upstairs, however, he couldn't get a good shot. Not without giving away his position, and he knew that was a bad idea. He did see that Reid's bedroom light was on. It stayed on for quite some time.

* * *

><p>As Spencer and Emily walked up to his bedroom, he asked,"So?"<p>

"There's a dark sedan almost exactly across the street. I saw the camera flash both when we were out front and on the couch."

"Do you think he can see us in the bedroom?"

"Not from that angle."

"Good."

"What's the matter, Dr. Reid?" She smiled. "Don't you want a witness to this?"

"Not really, no."

"You're blushing. That is so adorable."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's real sexy."

They had reached hi bedroom by then. Emily kissed him and said,"you are very sexy. I think so and so do the girls in your class."

"I think you're exaggerating."

Emily pushed him onto the bed and then got on top of him. "And I think you have far too much clothing on."

As if to prove her point, Emily started to remove his shirt as she kissed him. She started kissing him on the lips, but started to work her way down his face, then down his throat. She managed to get his shirt unbuttoned and removed both it and his undershirt. She kissed her way down his now bare chest.

She lightly bit his nipple, which caused him to moan gently.

Before she could attack his other nipple, he rolled over, so he was now on top of her. "Now you're wearing too much." He reached down and removed her shirt. She wore a simple white bra underneath. He had trouble with the clasp, so she helped him undo it. He kissed her on the lips, his tongue exploring the inside of her mouth. As he did that, he gently caressed her right breast. Then he kneaded the right nipple with his thumb and forefinger, causing her to moan as he kissed her.

He felt her hips suddenly buck underneath him.

"You don't know what you're doing to me right now," she said in a husky whisper.

"Well, I thought some oral stimulation coupled with,"he began.

Emily rolled over, so she was now on top of him. "No, no lectures now. No more words."

She began to grind her pelvis against his. She could feel the hardness of his erection. She was already wet in her womanhood. She was yearning to have that erection inside her right now. She nearly ripped off his pants and underwear. She was rewarded for her efforts by his manhood springing up, like it was offering itself to her. She took it in her mouth and sucked on it hard, which caused him to moan and gasp.

When she heard him say,"Oh my God, Emily," she couldn't take it anymore. She quickly took her pants off, and mounted him. She held onto the headboard for balance. As she rode him, his hands reached up and supported her torso. She started at a slow, deliberate rhythm but it quickly turned into a fast pace.

Then, much quicker than either of them expected, they both climaxed. First she did, but as soon as she began to scream with pleasure, he exploded inside her. Then as soon as the waves of pleasure washed over her, she collapsed on top of him. He held her tight against him, as her head nestled into the crook of his neck.

"You don't have to hold on to me so tightly, Spencer, I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon."

He smiled, but still held on to her.


	17. Let Sleeping Shaws Lie

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

><p>Henry Shaw was asleep. It was about 3 am, and he could hardly be blamed for dozing off. Dr. Reid and his lady friend had been in the bedroom for a long time, presumably doing the bedroom activity that follows kissing. Shaw was surprised on the length of time they went at it. Perhaps the good doctor was blessed with exceptional endurance.<p>

In any case, Henry Shaw only dozed off for about 15 minutes. That was, however, more than enough time for a certain individual to perform their task unobserved. The only light that was on was the bedroom, which received most of Shaw's attention. Of course, Shaw knew the only door out of Reid's place was the front door.

Unless, of course, you counted the balcony out back. But since it was on the second floor, it wasn't much of an exit. That is, unless someone used the rope ladder that was meant to be used in case of a fire. It was kept in special box, where it could be quickly rolled out and then retracted just as quickly by means of the crank on the box's side. Of course, Reid kept it covered by a decorative quilt his mother gave him a long time ago. So, Henry Shaw could hardly be blamed for not knowing of it's existence.

What Henry Shaw didn't know was while he was watching the light in the bedroom window, Emily Prentiss (dressed all in black) unrolled the ladder and used it to get down unobserved. Then she snuck around and crept up to his car. There she took down his license plate number, and placed a small device on his car. Then she snuck back and up the ladder. Once she was back in the apartment, Reid was waiting in the bedroom.

"That was good Emily. I could barely see you."

"I've had a little practice doing things like that."

"I see."

"What is it? Something's bothering you, isn't it?"

"I was just thinking," he looked at the bed where the two of them had made love several times that evening. "Is this," he indicated the bed,"why you've been so supportive of me leaving?"

"Oh Spencer," she said.

"Well?"

"No. Not as such."

"Not as such?"

She sighed. "At the risk of hurting your feelings, I didn't plan this," pointing at the bed,"from the beginning. The truth is, I only thought about this later on."

"How much later?"

"Does it really matter when?"

"It does to me."

She nodding, understanding his need to know. "I have to admit when you first said you were quitting I felt hurt. It was ...visceral, like someone punched me in the stomach."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

She held up a hand and shook her head. "I know. It's okay. Like I said, that was my first reaction. Then, I just wanted to understand why. Once you explained it to me, I understood. Then it occurred to me that your leaving was an opportunity."

"For this?"

"I wasn't thinking about this specifically, but I did think about the possibility of a relationship outside of work. I thought, you might be the first person I would know outside of the team who would really understand what I do. The only person I might be able to really talk about it with. Then I thought, we could just see what would happen if we had a social relationship without worrying about fraternization rules."

"You said you were dropping hints."

"That came later, after I knew what I wanted."

"And when was that?"

"The day I went to your class."

"Oh?"

"I put my arm in yours while we walked to your office. It felt so...right. That's when I realized what I wanted."

"Which was?"

"You. I wanted you to be mine and I wanted to be yours."

"My what?"

She sighed. "This." She hugged him. "The person you share everything with. I don't care what word that is, but I know it's more than either being friends or lovers. Something deeper. Because right now, you're the most precious thing in my life."

"I..I don't know what to say to that."

"You don't need to say anything. You're here with me, that's all I need."

"You're very precious to me too, you know."

"Good."

They stood there hugging each other for a few minutes, then Reid started kissing her.

"You are wearing far too much clothing, Spencer Reid. Who told you to put pajamas on?"

"I don't like walking around naked."

"Then you should stay in bed."

"I was. But someone took a walk."

"I just had a quick errand. But now it's definitely time for bed." She pushed him onto the bed, then she took off the black sweatsuit she was wearing. Then she crawled on top of him. "I feel much more comfortable. Now are you going to take off your clothes or am I?"

"I think you like taking them off."

"I think you like it. I think maybe you like having someone undress you and dress you. Is that what you want?"

Before Spencer had a chance to answer she practically ripped his pajama top off of his body. "Or maybe this is what you want." She leaned forward and put her breasts close to his mouth.

He took one of them in his mouth and sucked hard on her nipples, causing her to cry out. Then he rolled over so he was on top of her. "I think you like having someone play with your breasts."

"But what I want to play with is this," she grabbed Reid's crotch, feeling his hardness. "But don't stop playing with my breasts."

Reid kept sucking her nipple. As he did, Emily reached inside his pajama bottoms and began to stroke his cock. Then she pulled his pajama bottoms down and mounted him.

"We already did this one," he said. "But there's one we didn't do yet."

"We don't need to do every position in one night."

"You don't like doggy style?"

"Well, if you have your heart set on it," she sounded magnanimous, although that was one of her favorite sexual positions. She got on her hand and knees on the bed. Reid mounted her from behind, and she moaned with pleasure as he entered her womanhood. As he began to thrust inside her, his hand reached around and cupped her breasts. His delicate fingers pinched and tweaked her nipples, causing her moan even louder.

Then he picked up the pace of his thrusts and soon, sooner than either of them expected, he exploded inside her. Shortly after that, she climaxed as well. Then they both collapsed on the bed. Several minutes later, they finally turned out the light and drifted off to sleep.

From his car, Henry Shaw saw the lgiht go off. "About time," he muttered. He waited, watching to see if Emily was leaving. After half an hour with no movement or lights going on, he realized she was staying put. In his experience that suggested he had been wrong about this one. Apparently they were romantically involved.

Well, he had been wrong before.


	18. The Morning After

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

><p>Spencer Reid rolled over, hoping to find Emily Prentiss still in bed with him. What he found was the warm spot on the mattress where she had been.<p>

But she was really there, it wasn't a dream. He peeked at the time, and realized he had a few hours to sleep yet. So he rolled over and closed his eyes.

He lay like that for a few minutes before he felt someone start to poke him.

"Hey, lazy bones," Emily said. "I don't know about college professors, but most honest working people are up."

"One of many reasons I left."

"Well, it's time to get up. If for no other reason than to explain this," she was holding a letter in front of him.

"What is it?"

"I found it in the trash."

"It must not be important."

"Will you look it it?"

Reid opened his eyes and glanced at it. To most people that wouldn't be enough, but that was more than enough for Reid to read it and remember why he threw it away. "It's nothing important." Then he rolled back over.

"It's an invitation to a faculty dinner."

"I know that."

"That's the sort of thing you should go to."

"Why?"

"Because like it or not, this is part of being a professor. Getting tenure."

"What does getting tenure have to do with dinner?"

"There's a certain about of politics involved. You should go to this."

"It sounds like a dreadful experience."

"What if I go with you?"

He rolled over and opened his eyes. "You want to go?"

"Well, since you asked so nicely" she said with a smile.

"If you wanted to go, why didn't you just ask? Why say anything about tenure?"

"I'm right about the tenure. And I'm right about getting up. Come on, get up."

"Why?"

"So you can watch if our friend follows me."

"Oh." He sat up.

"Much better." She kissed him. "Come on and see me off."

Reid put a bathrobe on and walked with Emily to the door. After she kissed him good-bye she said,"I could get used to this."

"To what?"

"Getting up and kissing you good-bye as I go the work."

"It would be a little hard to manage when you're traveling on a case."

"Don't rain on my parade."

"I don't see our friend out there."

"Then you know what you need to do."

"Sure. How about you?"

"I used to do stuff like this all the time."

"When?"

"A long time ago, before I came here. I'll tell you about it later. I'll call you later today." Then she kissed him again, got in her car and drove to work.

* * *

><p>Emily walked into the BAU offices a little tired. She hadn't really gotten that much sleep last night but she had operated on less sleep before. She was happy. She was actually humming. She sat down at her desk, logged on to her computer and was ready to start her day feeling fully charged.<p>

Then she remembered she a very important errand to do. She got up from her desk and walked back to Garcia's office.

"Hey PG."

"Oh no you don't."

"What?"

"Don't you 'what?' me you crazy lady." Garcia got up and closed the door to her office, then stood in front of the door and crossed her arms. "First you go all, 'Badass Emily' in the restaurant and then you and Reid make out in the alley. It almost looked like you were about to get to second base too."

"Yeah, we went a little further when we got to his place."

Garcia's eyes got as big as saucers. "Just how much past that did you get?"

Emily smiled. "That's not important."

"Like hell it isn't. If I'm going to suffer having Girl's Night ending like that, the least I should get is a little dirt on what happened."

"Let's just say it was worth the wait. And interrupting Girl's Night."

"For you."

"So I guess a favor is out of the question."

"What kind of a favor?"

"Running a plate for me?"

"That's not a favor, that's a momentary distraction. What plate?"

"Well, there's a possibility that despite what that woman said, Spencer is still under surveillance."

"Surveillance? What's going on?"

"I don't know. Yet. So, can you help me out?"

"Sure. I just need some details."

"Details?"

"Let's start with what time you two went to sleep."

"Which time?"

"What do you mean, which time?"

"Well, we took a couple of breaks. During one of them, I got this guy's license plate number."

"What did you do? Did he see you?"

Emily smiled and shook her head,"He fell asleep. Whatever kind of operation this Conklin is running, it's not a terribly professional crew. He really should have more than just that one man."

"Henry Shaw."

"Shaw?"

Garcia pointed to her computer screen. "Henry Shaw. He's a private investigator. From his bank account, it looks like he does a lot of work for someplace called the Archimedes Group. It looks like he works almost exclusively for them. Give me a few minutes and I can tell you more."

"I want to know how the Archimedes Group connects to Conklin. Also, I need you to keep this quiet."

"Are you planning something?"

"Garcia, they tried to drug Reid last night. The next time it might be something more serious."

"Do you honestly think they'll hurt him?"

"They might try. But they didn't count on us. We'll stop them, and make sure they don't do this to anyone else."

"So, why don't we try to pull the team in on this?"

"Because he's not on the team anymore. Besides ..."

"Yeah?"

"I don't want them to know about me and Reid."

"Why not?"

"Because ...I just want something that's mine. That I don't share with them. Don't you keep some things private?"

Garcia nodded. "Okay, we'll keep this just between us girls. But that means I get a little dish now and again."

"Deal. Here's your first dish, he's taking me to a faculty dinner."

"And you want to go? I mean, it sounds kinda stuffy."

"Maybe. But it'll be something stuffy with him. That's all I care about."

"Awww"


	19. Kabotchnik

_Disclaimer: as always, I own nothing, no copyright infringement is intended._

_A/N: I'm sorry I haven't updated this one in a while, it's a perfect storm of real life, writers block and having 7 stories I need to finish. It doesn't help I have new plot bunny demanding a new fic based off of season 7 episodes. Anyway, here's the next installment._

* * *

><p>When Earl Hoskins walked into his office, he saw a big man sitting in his chair with his feet on Earl's desk.<p>

"What the hell do you think you're doing Harry?" Hoskins cried out.

"Waiting for you. Just be glad I waited for you instead of barging into your house." Harry Kabotchnik made no move to get out of Hoskins chair.

"Get your ass out of my chair."

"Not yet," Kabotchnik sounded bored, almost sleepy. "I thought we had an understanding regarding Conklin. How you were going to keep him under control."

"He is."

"And I thought we had an understanding about Dr. Reid. How everyone was going to give him space and use laid back recruiting techniques on him."

"And I communicated that."

"Really?" Harry swung his feet off Hoskins desk, stood up and looked at him. "Then can you explain why one of Conklin's people just tried to drug Dr Reid?" Kabotchnik wasn't bored any more. Actually, he sounded pissed. "Does drugging someone sound like laid back recruiting to you?"

"Hey, I don't anything about that. I certainly didn't authorize it."

"It's your job to know what he's up to. I'm not wild about us using Conklin for anything. I certainly don't like the idea of his specific project. But the decision to let him do that is above my pay grade. But I will be Goddamned if I stand by while Conklin does whatever the fuck he feels like. You need to get him under control right now or I will!"

"Yeah, if only you outranked me. But you don't Harry. I'll talk to Conklin though. Thanks for the advice. I assume you're already keeping it quiet. I appreciate. Now, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out Harry."

Harry scowled at Earl. "Listen to me you smarmy bastard, you have got 48 hours to reign him in or I'm going to end you."

Earl laughed. "Please. You don't have muscle for that and you know it."

Harry left.

Earl shook his head. Poor Harry Kabotchnik, he thought. Harry was under the delusion that his opinion mattered. His true function was to make sure secrets didn't leak out to the public at large. The fact that Harry was able to keep Earl from poaching Agent Jareau was a rare victory. Earl wasn't in the mood to humor him though. He did wish Conklin was a little more discrete. He probably needed to see how much damage Conklin did.

As Harry walked away, he called JJ. "So, where are we at?" he asked.

"I have Elaine in a secure location."

"And the restaurant?"

"I explained this was part of a federal investigation and we were relying on their discretion."

"All right. Here's the thing, we're going to put an end to Conklin and Hoskins. This has got to stop."

"You can do that?"

"Not by saying so. As long as Conklin as his grant and the support of the right people, those two can do what they like. I didn't say it was going to be easy. So, I'm wondering if you think Emily Prentiss and Spencer Reid might help us out?"

"How?"

"Conklin is an amateur and Hoskin thinks I'm a deluded idiot. I'm thinking we can use that against them. But I think we're going to need help. But if it goes wrong...this isn't what you signed on for I know but ..."

"I didn't sign on for anything. I was forced into this. And I don't like what they tried to do to my friends."

"Alright. Meet me in the office and we'll go over the next move.

* * *

><p>After the morning briefing, Emily checked her phone. She had it set to vibrate during the briefing, and felt it go off. She had thought it was JJ calling to arrange for her to give a statement. Emily was pleasantly surprised to see it was Spencer who had called.<p>

She checked the time. She had a few minutes before his lecture, so she called his cell phone

"Hello," he answered.

"So, Dr. Reid, are you seducing co-eds?"

He sighed. "That joke really isn't funny anymore Emily. Actually, it never was funny."

She laughed wickedly,"what if I'm the coed? Then it isn't really a joke, is it?"

"Well, I really haven't done any seducing. If anyone has been seducing anyone, you've been seducing me."

"That's because you haven't been doing your part, so I had to take over."

"I really think in a post-modern society assigning gender roles like that makes no sense."

"You're taking all the fun out of this."

"According to Morgan, that's one of my specialties."

"You were a lot of fun last night."

"Which is why I called. If you don't get called on a case, would you like to come over tonight?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I thought I would show what I have worked out for phase 2 of our plan. Then maybe we could have dinner or something."

"We haven't even finished phase 1."

"Which makes it a good time to plan out phase 2, don't you think? Anyway, the transmitter is working. I've been getting good data on the car."

"And I have a name to go with the car. A PI named Shaw."

"You can bring any information you find on him to dinner."

"How romantic."

"I never said I was good at romance."

"That's okay. You have other redeeming qualities. Just don't forget about the dinner."

"What dinner?"

"The faculty dinner."

"I didn't forget."

"Did you RSVP?"

"Not yet."

"What are you waiting for?"

"Nothing. I just haven't done it yet. But I will."

"You better."

"I will. I promise."

"Good."

When Emily hung up the phone, she saw Morgan standing there looking at her.

"Who's that?" he asked.

"None of your business."

"A boyfriend?"

"Do you not understand 'none of your business'"?

"Boyfriend. Definitely a boyfriend. Anyone I know?"

"At this point, he's not so much a boyfriend as a lover."

"Lover?"

"Mostly we just have sex. Good sex too, if you're interested. Do you want me to describe the sex in detail?"

Morgan tried to say something, but when he opened his mouth he couldn't make any words come out.

"I'll let you think about it then."

She smiled and walked away.


	20. Rossi's Plan

_A/N:After a too long hiatus, I'm back. I'm sorry for leaving everyone following my fics hanging. If you look on my profile there is a production schedule for the open fics._

_But, as we all know, man plans and God laughs. I intended to finish Interludes before I started updating this one, but I can't anything to work well with that fic, for some reason. In fact, I'm blocked on most of my stories.  
><em>

_So, we have this installment instead. I hope you enjoy it.  
><em>

_Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any character associated with it, no copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

><p>The following week, Emily was working away on consults at her desk when Dave Rossi sat down next to her.<p>

Without looking up from her desk, Emily asked, " Can I help you?"

"I need to talk to about Reid."

"Oh?" She looked up at Rossi, trying to gauge what he might be talking about. Did he know about the incident in the restaurant? Or was this about something else?

"I think I have a way to get Reid back on the team."

Emily kept herself from laughing out loud at Rossi. She was, however, unable to keep from smiling as she said," Really? Didn't you hear about his proposal to build a time machine?"

Rossi laughed. "I did hear about it. That was pretty funny, but I don't think it will be a significant problem. The biggest problem is going be convincing him to come back, and that's why I need your help."

"My help?"

"I think Hotch and I can smooth things over with Strauss. The real obstacle in all of this will be convincing Reid to come back."

"And you think I can help with that?"

"I know you're spending a lot of time with him."

"So? We're friends."

Rossi gave one of his knowing smiles, almost as if he knew they were more than just friends. "Which means you are the perfect one to convince him to come back."

"Really?"

"I think if you start now, then by the end of the semester you might have completely convinced him to come back."

"Really?"

"You may not realize it Emily, but you are a big influence on him. I think you have been for a while. He has a great deal of affection for you. More than you will ever guess."

"I think you're confusing me with JJ."

"Oh, he has affection for her too. The difference with her is its more like she's his sister. With you it's something else entirely. And I'm guessing that's not entirely one-sided. I mean, you are the only one that has maintained contact with him."

Emily hadn't considered exactly how much of a secret to keep her relationship with Spencer. Everyone on the team struggled with keeping secrets. They were like a family, so they shared a lot of things. But they shared so much, that sometimes it felt nice to be able to have some things private. She and Spencer hadn't talked about how much of a secret she was going to make their relationship. It was something they should really talk about. It was something that deserved careful consideration. Once Rossi knew, the cat was out of the bag.

But it wasn't for nothing that she was called reckless.

"Well, Dave, I wish you all the luck in smoothing things over with Strauss, but I have no intention with convincing Spencer to come back. The truth is, I have no motivation for him to come back."

"You don't miss working with him?"

"I did at first. But then we started spending time together. It's nice to having someone I can share things with. Someone that gets all of _this,_" she gestured around the office. "You're right, we're close. The truth is, there is affection. Not just friendship but real affection and connection on so many levels."

She looked Rossi right in the eyes. For the first time during the conversation, he looked surprised. "Emily are the two of you ..." he was trying to think of the right word.

"Involved? You have no idea how much. More than friends. Dating is too casual a word for it. I don't know what is the right word, but we are definitely in a relationship. I don't know exactly where it's headed, but for certain if we were working together our relationship would be breaking Bureau fraternization rules. So, let me be clear, I have no motivation to convince him to come back, because if he does I would risk losing on the best relationship I've ever had with a man."

For once, Rossi was at a loss for words.

"So," Emily continued," like I said, good luck with Strauss. But I'm not helping you convince him to come back. Now, if there's nothing else, I have work to do. I have plans tonight, so I don't feel like staying late."

"Plans?"

"With Spencer."

She turned back to her work, leaving Rossi to look at her in disbelief. After a few minutes, he went back to his had to think. He hadn't considered the two of them might have become _that _entangled. He hadn't considered he wouldn't be able to convince Emily to help bring Reid back to the team.

But from the look in her eye, he knew his charm wouldn't convince her to help. She might not realize it, but Rossi knew exactly where she wanted it her relationship with Reid to go.

"Start running now kid," he said out loud. "Because I don't think Emily has any intention of letting you go."

Then a new thought began in Rossi's mind.

_Maybe Reid doesn't want to be free of her. Maybe he's fine with this._

Rossi sighed. After weeks of thinking and planning, he realized he made a foolish assumption. He had always assumed this resignation of Reid's was simply a reaction to JJ's transfer or just something he had to get out of his system. It never occurred to him that Reid made a considered decision.

He never considered that Reid would never want to come back.


	21. Nick & Nora Charles

_Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds or any character associated with it, no copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

><p>"What the hell is this?" Harry Kabotchnik slammed the folder in his hand down on the desk.<p>

JJ just raised her eyebrows. She had become used to her boss's outbursts by now. Harry could go from bored to enraged back to bored in 10 seconds. Saying he was a little bipolar was an understatement, but JJ could control herself around him. Dealing with Strauss, Gideon and the press was good preparation for dealing with the likes of Harry Kabotchnik.

"This is Dr. Reid's plan for bringing down Conklin."

"This is a fucking TARDIS!"

Not laughing at that was a challenge. JJ did smile, but it was only a slight smile. She hoped.

The truth was she had a similar reaction when Reid and Emily presented it to her. However, the overall plan was sound. Mostly.

"Well, their plan is to make Conklin act even more reckless than he has already. The best way to do that is to dangle the one thing he wants in front of him, and that's a working time machine."

"This is a TARDIS." Kabotchnik's tone was more disdainful than angry.

"What should it look like? A DeLorean?"

Kabotchnik held his head in his hands," this can't possibly be my life."

"I'm not the one who gave Conklin millions to make a time machine."

"Neither am I. Answer me one question. This isn't real. I mean, your Dr. Reid didn't really build one, did he?"

"Not that he would admit to."

"I'm not joking."

"Neither am I. Look, I would expect Dr. Reid to come up with a working time machine before anyone else. For all I know this design he wrote would actually work."

"So let me ask this, if he's figured out how to build one..."

"He wouldn't give me a straight answer if this would work or not. Do you really want to know if he's figured it out."

Harry paused. Then he shook his head. "How are they planning to entice Conklin with this?"

"By letting him find it."

"And just how are they going to manage that?"

"Well, Conklin's attempts to recruit Reid have failed so far. It's only a matter of time before tries something more drastic."

"Like what?"

"Conklin has already tried to get leverage on Reid. We think he'll have Shaw break into Reid's home, probably to set up more aggressive surveillance."

"Aggressive?"

"Bug the house, tap the phones, that kind of thing."

"And he's going to find plans for a TARDIS?"

"Something like that. They're even giving the perfect opportunity to do it."

"What do you mean?"

"They have a social engagement, so Shaw will have plenty of time to do it."

"Social engagement?"

"A faculty dinner."

"So our whole plan is riding on a sleaze-bag PI, plans for a TARDIS and a faculty dinner?"

"And two very special individuals."

"I forgot. I'm counting on Nick and Nora Charles. Whatever was I worrying about?"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, across town, Spencer Reid was tying his bowie.<p>

At least, he was trying to tie it. He was on his fifth attempt, and no closer to making look like a bowtie. To a casual observer, it resembled a random collection of knots hung from his neck.

His frustration level was not helped by Emily Prentiss giggling at his failed attempts.

"If you're not going to be helpful, at least move out of earshot.," he grumbled.

"Where's the fun in that?"

Reid turned around and glared at her. At least he tried to glare. It was hard to maintain anger when Emily was giving one of her dazzling smiles. He gave her a helpless look, which prompted her to give him a big hug followed by a tender kiss.

"Here," she said," let me help." She began tying his tie, and within a minute she had it tied perfectly. "If you didn't know how to tie one, why didn't you get a clip on."

"I was afraid it would fall off half-way through the night. I didn't want to ruin your night."

"It isn't my night. It's yours. It is a faculty dinner, after all."

"That you wanted to go to. Besides, Dr. Who made it look easy. I really didn't think it would be this hard."

"I see." She kissed him on the forehead "Let's go Professor."

"Is he out there?"

"Who?"

"Our friend."

"You mean Shaw? If he is, he's being more discrete than usual. It's all right, everything's in place. So let's enjoy ourselves."

"Okay."

"Hold it. One minute."

"What is it?"

Emily smiled.

"I just wanted to take one look at you is all. Try not to get an inflated ego, but I think you look very dashing."

He smiled. He was still getting used to the fact she found him attractive.

"You look pretty."

She smiled. "Let's go dazzle the faculty."

As they left, somewhere a camera with a telephoto lens took their picture. Henry Shaw picked up a small radio and said,"they're on the move. Everyone knows what to do. Let's see if we can do it right this time."

* * *

><p><em>AN: The game isn't quite afoot, but it's getting there... _


End file.
